Call of the Chaos: Last Hope
by Shin Kerron
Summary: The chaos emeralds. Time and time again the fate of the world is determined by them... but what happens when the power from the emeralds begins to change Sonic and his friends. For better or worse, they are and always will be, the world's last hope.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note  
Hello, I am the author of the fan written piece of fiction that you are currently reading. This is another story I'm working on in addition to my other Sonic fanfic, Chaos Frequency. This fanfic however, will be free of fan characters, so sorry anyone who liked reading about Neco and the others. You can expect to see these random notes from myself at the beginning and end of each chapter.  
Sonic: Ahem!  
Yes, yes, Sonic and the others shall share their thoughts as well… As I put them through torture whenever I feel like it.  
Shadow: Don't even think about it.  
This is my fan-fic. Therefore, I have control over everything that occurs… However Shadow, be a good boy, and I might just reward you.  
Shadow: …This is degrading…  
I know  
NOW ONTO THE FIC!  
Additional Note: This takes place a few years after the events of Shadow the Hedgehog (I have yet to play Sonic Next Gen…)

* * *

**Call of the Chaos: Last Hope**

**Chapter 1**

Aboard the ARK, in Doctor Gerald Robotnik's private study

Shadow the hedgehog, the ultimate life form, ran his crimson eyes over the various documents that he had scattered about the desk once again. He picked a file from the seemingly unorganized mess atop the desk, and began to flip through it. The ebony hedgehog had saved the same planet that the space station was in orbit around, killing the black arms leader and destroying their comet. And before that he had sacrificed his life to save the planet from his own creator's anger at the people who lived on that planet, and had been brought back through means unknown, and had assisted in saving the planet from an android. And yet still he was unwelcome. People feared him, and cast him away, the same people who he had fought so hard to protect.

Then there was GUN… Shadow's eyes narrowed in hatred. The Guardian Unit of Nations, as they called themselves, was as a whole useless. Time and time again as the world was in need, all they proved that all they were good for was pushing around those who were too weak to defend themselves. The GUN Commander, even after the truth had been revealed, still had an unexplained hatred for Shadow… Though he no longer voiced it aloud, as he realized it was also the fault of GUN itself that Maria and so many others died aboard the ARK that day… GUN only seemed capable of making a bad situation worse…

Shadow grew frustrated as he continued through the file. Although he had placed his past behind him, the ARK was still the closest thing to a home he ever had. He had recently started to go through Professor Gerald's paperwork, hoping that he might learn something more about himself. He did not admit it, but he also hoped that he would find something that would tell him how he could spend the rest of his nearly endless life, as he was ageless and could not die from illness. His life was simple now, but he felt empty… He lacked something to make himself have the will to continue on. He needed a goal of some sort, or just something that would ease this feeling of absolute nothingness that his life had become filled with.

Shadow let out a growl of annoyance. "Nothing…" He muttered under his breath. "…This is pointless!" he finally yelled as he threw the file across the room where it collided with a bookcase, knocking a few of the thinner volumes off the shelf and scattering the documents within the file across the floor. Shadow just glared at them for a moment before he let out a sigh. "I shouldn't have done that…" One thing that Shadow had decided upon recently, was that he had to learn to control his anger. Anger had lead to the downfall of several of the strongest, and Shadow never intended to allow himself to suffer from the same weaknesses of others.

Shadow began to pick up the fallen books and scattered papers, when something caught his eye. It was a simple volume that lacked a title or any form of label. Normally a book such as this would be easily overlooked, but for some reason Shadow picked it up and began to flip through it. The first few pages were completely blank, however soon he came to something that was written in a very familiar handwriting that was very cramped, despite being the only thing on its page. "Gerald Robotnik's final journal – The truth of project Shadow that time did not allow to be known." Shadow read aloud as his eyes slowly widened.

'I pray that this journal remains unfound by the military, as they shall soon shut down the ARK and all projects taking place aboard it. I have made startling discoveries concerned Shadow. If someone is reading this, then you must already know of what is to occur fifty years from the time I am writing these very words. Should Shadow be unable to stop the events already set into motion, I plead that the information you shall learn be used immediately. While it is true that I began project Shadow as a way to find a cure for the illness that my daughter Maria suffers from, I soon learned that there is far more to this than I first thought… There is not nearly enough time before the military comes for me to make changes to the plans I have already laid for Shadow without drawing more attention than I can safely have upon myself, and I dare not write more, in the event that the military does locate this book. I shall however reveal where to locate the information I have gathered in the database. The key is the final thing that I continue the ultimate life form project for.'

Shadow closed the book and placed it back on the bookshelf. He said nothing, and simply made his way to the bridge of the ARK, where the main terminal resided. Shadow stepped up to the large computer and activated it. It took quiet some time for the old machine to finish uploading, but eventually it was running again, awaiting command. "Computer, locate database. Keyword, last hope." Shadow said, having figured out the professor's simple yet suitable puzzle. "Searching… database found. Voice recognition in progress… Voice recognized. Access to database granted." The cool artificial voice of the computer announced.

Several files opened, but the one that obviously demanded Shadow's attention first was a typed document by Professor Gerald.

'Shadow, if you are the one reading this, then by now you have defeated the black arms and are concerned about who you are, or your simple curiosity has lead you here. If someone else has accessed this information, unless Shadow was unable to defeat Black Doom, I ask that you leave this information be. Regardless of who is reading, within this database is information concerning project Shadow that I did not have time to make alterations in my already made plans.

While observing the genetic sample from Black Doom, I noticed there was something about the DNA structure. There was a segment that did not seem to match up to the rest of the genetic code of the black arms. I later determined this segment to be the portion that allowed them to use the power of the seven chaos emeralds. I became intrigued by this portion of DNA, and through research, I learned that it was more out of place than I originally believed. It more closely resembled the genetic structure of the various species of mobians that live on earth, rather than the aliens from the black comet. Specifically the genetic code matched up with a particular lineage of mobian hedgehogs. I obtained a sample of this hedgehog family's DNA. This discovery proved to be an immense relief as I would not need to make Shadow one of those horrible black arms, and the start of yet more discoveries…

While creating Shadow, I took the genetic code from the hedgehog mobians and altered it, making Shadow resemble the black arms so that Black Doom would not suspect anything. Shadow however is free of their hive like mental control, and has his free will.

The family of hedgehogs knows nothing about project shadow, and I do not wish them to have to get involved unless absolutely necessary. In the event that the Black Arms cannot be stopped by Shadow, I implore whoever reads this to contact the most able of them, and ask of them to fight for our world's safety.

-- Professor Gerald Robotnik'

Shadow closed the word document and began to look through the various files. Most of them were complicated diagrams or equations involving the connection between the power of the chaos emeralds and various DNA samples Gerald had obtained. Shadow didn't know what to think of everything he had learned yet, so he simply continued to look through the database. Finally he found a file containing a family tree of the hedgehogs that Gerald had talked about. Not surprisingly, it was outdated as the information was over fifty years old.

"…Computer, access the world governments' files and search for information relevant to this family." Shadow commanded the computer. "Accessing… Searching… one file located." The computer informed him. The file contained several documents, each one seeming to describe a member of the family, simply showing general information such as names and physical descriptions. Shadow checked the two most current documents, a married couple apparently. "Gender: male, Status: Deceased… Gender: Female, Status: Unknown, presumed deceased… This is pointless." Shadow muttered to himself. The information was pretty much useless to him if the two were dead.

"There is another piece of data within the file, however the information is incomplete. Do you wish to display it?" The computer inquired. "…Yes." Shadow said. He had nothing better to do anyways. The document opened up. It read 'Name: Unknown, Status: Unknown, Current residence: Unknown, Age: If alive, would be 18 years and 11 months.' Shadow was about to dismiss the document as being as useless as the others. "…Wait a minute." He said aloud as he read on. 'Quill color: Blue, Eye Color: Green, Last known location: Central City' Below all this, there was 'Most recent known photo:' fallowed by a picture… The picture was of a small, slightly chubby, one year old Sonic the Hedgehog.

"…I don't believe it." Shadow said aloud. "…I don't fing believe it."

* * *

("_Well I don't show off, don't criticize. I'm just living by my own feelings. And I won't give in won't compromise, 'cuz I only have a stead. Fast. Heart-of-gold_!") The lyrics sang in the head of the world famous blue blur. He was running, his favorite thing to do. Sure he got to run all the time, but usually it was because he had to get somewhere fast, or use his speed to thwart whatever plot Eggman had thought up. Sure he enjoyed doing that, but when he had the most fun was when he was able to run like he was now. Of his own free will, with nothing to hold him back or force him into it. To him, he was experiencing freedom itself.

Unfortunately, Sonic's memory kicked in at that moment. He knew he was supposed to be somewhere… But where? "…Ah man! I was supposed to be at Tails' place!" He said as he remembered his two tailed side-kick needed him for a research project. Sonic skidded to a halt so that he could check his surroundings. "Station Square? Well, at least I'm on the same continent. Gotta get to Central City, now!" He said, voicing his thoughts aloud as he took off running again.

* * *

The two tailed teenage genius paced back and forth as he checked his clock again. He was getting a little fed up. ("You'd think that he'd be on time at least once!") He thought angrily as he stared at his feet, as if checking to see if he was wearing a path in the floor of his workshop. In one corner of the already crowded shop was crammed several pieces of equipment, most of which seemed like the young fox had taken apart several heart rate monitors and somehow rigged them together into one device.

Tails' ear twitched as he heard the familiar sound of a sonic boom as his friend whose name was the former of those two words skidded to a halt just inside the door. "Finally! You're over two hours late!" Tails yelled at the famous blue blur. "I know, I know, I messed up. Let's just get this over with now that I am here." Sonic said. He was always glad to see his best bud; however Tails' most recent research project involved a long time of doing something he hated. Remaining calm and peaceful, while sitting as perfectly still as he physically could.

Sonic let out a sigh as he sat on the wooden stool as Tails began to attach the various monitors to him. "Tails, you just did this a half a weak ago. I doubt there's going to be a significant change in that amount of time." He said. "I know, but I need to take the measurements at regular intervals or the results will become inaccurate." Tails explained. "Knuckles nearly socked me in the face out of annoyance." The fox added with a chuckle. Sonic laughed as he imagined how Tails managed to rope the guardian of the master emerald into his experiment as well.

The project itself was something about measuring the various levels of energy, similar to the energy released by the chaos emeralds, within the subjects being measured under various situations. Tails had tried to get information about chaos energy from Shadow for the project; however the ebony hedgehog had refused to render any form of assistance. So Tails was forced to rely on what little data he already had.

"…Are we done yet?" Sonic asked. He was bored out of his mind at just sitting there letting the little fox look at the various machines while scribbling things down on his notepad. He was staring at a crack in the wall pretending that it served some form of entertainment for him, when he noticed his young masterminded friend's eyes were widening. "I don't understand…" Tails muttered. "Don't understand what?" Sonic asked. "It's nothing. Ok, now focus on your inner chaos energy, like you do when using the emerald's power or do things like chaos control-" Tails was instructing. "Yeah I know, we've been over this before Tails. You don't need to explain to me how to do it." Sonic interrupted as he closed his eyes. He slowly began to extend internal senses, searching for that familiar sensation that chaos energy gave him when he used it. At full strength, it was like having his body engulfed in fire and soaked in ice all at once, but rather than be unbearable, the combination created a pleasant sensation that raced across his nervous system. Sonic found that same feeling, and began to focus his entire mind on it, forcing it to increase in size and flow through his body.

Sonic was interrupted in this process however as one of the devices suddenly broke, letting out a shower of sparks. Tails began yelling as he pulled the plugs out for all of his strange creations, several of which had begun to smoke. "…You broke the monitors…" Tails said as he stared at them. "…uhh, oops?" Sonic said with a shrug, not really sure what to say. "…Your internal chaos energy levels went so high… that the machines literally broke just trying to measure them…" Tails said in disbelief. "…Well, at least you saw significant change in a half a week." Sonic said with a nervous chuckle.

* * *

Shadow gathered up all the paperwork, computer disks, and other forms of information that he had found, and had begun to place them back where he found them. He picked up the green chaos emerald that he had brought aboard the ARK and stared at it for a second. "…No, it'll be safer here." He decided, setting it down again. He was headed back for earth. He needed a few answers to what he had discovered. True he would be exhausted after chaos controlling down to the surface of the planet without an emerald, but he didn't feel like taking the risk of GUN attacking at an inconvenient time and causing him to lose such a valuable item.

"Computer, set lock down mode." Shadow commanded. "Lock down mode initiated… the ARK is now secure." The system's artificial voice responded. "Right." Shadow said simply as he turned to one of the several windows on the space station to stare at the blue sphere that was his destination. "…Chaos, CONTROL!" He yelled. With that, he disappeared in a flash of light.

Halfway across the space station, a room unlocked and the internal lights began to flicker on. "Subject mental restoration at 97.2." The ARK's computer's voice stated to the empty space colony. "Repeat, subject Maria Robotnik mental restoration at 97.2" The voice stated.

* * *

And that's all you get for the first chapter!  
Shadow: … THE HELL?! WHAT THE WAS ALL THAT?!  
Sonic: Heh, I broke Tails' toy without even trying…  
Tails: Sonic! That cost a lot of money to make!  
Sonic: …Uhh… opps?  
Shadow: THERE IS NO WAY THAT ANY PART OF MY GENETIC CODE IS SIMILAR TO THAT FAKER'S!  
…Shut up, didn't you read the last line of the fic?  
Shadow: What does it matter? goes to read it …What the…  
Yep. Now you behave or you won't find out what that was all about.  
Shadow: …I hate you sometimes.  
I know you do.  
Comment, review, whatever! Just give me inspiration to keep writing people!

Oh, and Merry Christmas or whatever winter holiday you celebrate.


	2. Chapter 2

Alright! Onto the next chapter already! I believe I'll start this chapter out focusing on my favorite blue blur Sonic the hedgehog!  
Shadow: WHAT?! WHAT ABOUT MARIA?!  
Sonic: Calm down Shadow. You heard what the computer said, whatever it is, it's not at 100 yet so we've gotta wait a little while longer.  
Shadow: …It is so tempting to put a bullet in your little blue head.  
Shadow, what did I say about being good?  
Shadow: …Can I at least say you suck?  
Yeah, sure, doesn't bother me.  
Shadow: YOU SUCK!

* * *

Sonic was out running again, however this time he wasn't letting himself become lost in the simple act. Rather his mind was set on the events of the previous day. He couldn't believe it, but according to Tails' devices, his chaos energy levels had skyrocketed in less than three and a half days. Sure Sonic had found that he needed a few minutes less sleep than usual, but he never imagined that his internal chaos energy was starting to act as if he was constantly clenching a chaos emerald in his fist.

Sonic stopped himself to get a bite to eat since it was noon. He looked around to see what exactly the options were where he currently was. He spotted a hot dog vender and decided that that would do as well as anything else. "What do you want?" The vender, a large sweaty looking mobian turtle asked him. Sonic was about to answer, when he changed his mind at the last second. "…On second thought, I'm not really hungry." He said, taking off running again. Sonic couldn't understand it, he never passed up the opportunity to eat, and yet for some reason he felt as if breakfast had only been a few minutes ago. "The heck's going on with me?" He wondered aloud.

Something caught the azure hedgehog's sight. A few blocks down and around a corner there came a very brief flash of light. Most people would think it was simply a reflection off someone's car, but those people couldn't also sense chaos energy being used. "I'd recognize that energy pattern anywhere." Sonic said as a smirk grew on his face. He quickly dashed down to where the flash had issued forth.

Shadow breathed heavily as leaned against the faded brick wall to support his own weight. He had chaos controlled himself into a secluded alleyway, hoping to avoid contact with anyone until he recovered from using up so much energy at once. "Hey Shads, long time no see." Unfortunately it seemed that fate loved to mess with him. "What do you want?" Shadow asked irritated at his blue doppelganger that had chosen to pester him at the worst possible time. "From you? Just seeing what you're doing down here. It's been quiet a few months since anyone saw you down here on earth." Sonic answered. "It's none of your business." Shadow said as his automatic response. ("Ok, so technically this information would be his business… Regardless, I don't want to have to deal with this irritating excuse for a hedgehog.") Shadow thought.

"I'm leaving. I don't care what you do, just stay out of my way." Shadow announced as he started to stand upright. Unfortunately he did so too soon, and stumbled a bit. Sonic laughed. "The ultimate life form having trouble keeping upright?" He chuckled. Shadow had the motivation to punch Sonic right in the face to salvage his damaged pride. "Here, I'll help you." Sonic said, grabbing Shadow's arm and hoisting him upright. "I told you to stay out of my way!" Shadow yelled at Sonic. "Chill out, you've got to learn to accept help when it's given." Sonic said, ignoring Shadow's threats.

"Truth is, I'm kinda glad I ran into you today. Tails has a new project he's working on and I've been turned into the guinea pig for it." Sonic said to Shadow as he started to walk along, nearly having to drag the onyx colored hedgehog along. "He's studying the energy of the chaos emeralds that is present inside life forms. Yesterday, believe it or not, I actually broke some of his equipment!" Sonic said aloud, laughing as he realized just how funny the situation was. "What do I care?!" Shadow yelled as he yanked his arm away from Sonic. "See, the thing is, half a week ago he took the same type of readings, and in that amount of time my energy has gone from higher than average to some amount that is higher than the machines can even record." Sonic explained. "See that's what's weird. In just that short of… time?" Sonic turned around to see that Shadow had taken off running before he could finish. "…Huh, now I know how it feels when I run off while someone's talking to me." Sonic said to himself.

Shadow ran off in the direction of the location that he last knew the fox to have his workshop set up. He was unconcerned about Tails research originally, but now perhaps it could give him a few answers that he was looking for.

* * *

With folded arms he stared out into the vast forest that bordered upon the shrine he stood at. His massive fists clenched slightly, he was always on edge true, but lately he was even more so. He would wake up at being touched by even a light wind at night. The lack of sleep was causing dark circles to form under his violet eyes. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. His red lids opened as he turned to stare at the massive green emerald that it was his task in life to guard. The echidna rested one hand against it, feeling its warm surface. It gave him a somewhat comforting feeling, for as long as the master emerald continued to emit the same calm light and warmth, then all was right in the world as far as he was concerned.

Suddenly the emerald let out a pulsation. Knuckles released his hand from it and quickly whipped his head around, as if expecting attackers to have surrounded him on all sides. He saw nothing however, just the same scenery that he had observed for the majority of his life. He turned to stare at the Master Emerald with a questioning glance. The emerald pulsated again, only this time something about the pulsation seemed to mean something to the guardian. "…The time is… now…? What does that mean?" He wondered aloud, continuing to stare into the green depths of the massive gem.

* * *

"Keep your inventions off of me." Shadow said firmly, adding a glare to prove his point to the young genius. "Shadow, I just want to measure your energy for a few minutes! It's not like I'm going to probe you or something!" Tails complained. "I just came here to see the data from your research thus far, I in no way am going to let you try and use me as a lab rat in your experiments." Shadow said, trying to keep his anger from growing. "Alright fine." Tails said in disappointment. He walked over to a desk and pulled open a drawer on one side of it. He began to pull out a few clip boards and diagrams, arranging them on the desk's surface. "Here is all the data I've recorded so far." Tails said, stepping back so Shadow could approach the desk.

Shadow scanned over the various papers. He paid the most attention to the records on Sonic. He had seen similar recordings fifty years ago while Gerald was testing his development and other routine things. It almost sickened him how similar the readings were. ("I don't care how similar everything says we are, I am in no way similar to that infuriating blue hedgehog!") Shadow thought angrily. Then he looked at the last piece of paper that was still on a clip board. The information was incomplete, as if Tails had simply stopped writing in the middle of it. There was one thing about what was written however that made him curious. The levels of energy on the previous records did show a small increase, however that was hardly noticeable. However the most recent data was above amounts that Shadow had ever seen before.

"…Tails, get your equipment ready." Shadow said. "Does this mean you're going to let me measure the levels of chaos energy in you?" Tails asked hopefully. "No… I've noticed you've neglected to take any data on yourself." Shadow said. "Me? Why would I measure my own-" Tails was interrupted by Shadow. "You've been exposed to chaos energy as well. I believe that that qualifies you to undergo your research as well." Shadow said.

"…True. Alright, you'll have to write things down, since you're the only other person here." Tails said, shoving a clipboard and a pen into Shadow's hands. Tails went over to the wooden stool and sat down, starting to attach the various wires to himself. Shadow sighed, it seemed no matter what he did he was going to get force into this research of the young fox's in some way or another. Tails plugged back in the devices that had not been broken the previous day. Shadow stared at them a while, before scribbling things down in his own untidy handwriting.

"Well Shadow, what does it say?" Tails said as he started to take the wires off of himself. "Take a look." Shadow said, handing him the clipboard. Tails took it and began to read it, however the expression on his face showed that he was reading anything but what he expected. "…Impossible! I couldn't… I haven't been exposed to that much chaos energy! I barely even know how to use the emerald's power!" The young fox said aloud. "That's what it says… This is very interesting…" Shadow said, mostly to himself. "…Chaos control!" He said, leaving before the fox could start any form of conversation.

"Shadow! ...Ugh, he's worse than Sonic sometimes." Tails said aloud as he finished removing the wires from himself. "…Does this mean that the same thing is happening to anyone who has any amount of chaos energy inside them? Will everyone like that start having such huge amounts of energy?" The clever young one wondered aloud. "…I'm going to need to gather more data before I can figure this out." Tails decided.

* * *

Sonic ran past forests, occasionally going over a river. At his speed he didn't need to worry about how deep or wide the river was, he would literally run right across the water. ("Weird stuff's happening recently… First yesterday in Tails' workshop, then today I run into Shadow of all people.") He thought to himself. ("…Eh well, I'm sure things will work themselves out. This sort of stuff usually does.") He decided. A smile grew on his face. ("You know, I wonder just how fast I can really run.") He thought.

Never one to back down from a challenge he made to himself, Sonic began to pick up speed, going continuously faster. Whenever he would start to reach a constant velocity, he'd push himself even faster. He couldn't even hear himself think anymore as the air rushed through his ears and over his quills. His eyes no longer recognized colors as even they became blurred and melded together. Still he pushed himself faster, not even attempting to bring his senses up to his own speed as he would normally when running. He just lost himself entirely in the simple act.

His feet began to burn and his lungs cried out for him to slow down and catch his breath, but he didn't. It was if something kept pushing him, telling him to keep going faster, further. As if there was some goal to all this senseless running. ("Just a little faster… just a little further… just a bit more…") he told himself.

Suddenly everything came into focus again even as he kept moving. He could see everything crystal clear even as it sped out of sight in less than half a second. "What the?" He said aloud, then he felt the ground beneath his foot give way as he crashed and slid along the ground, finally coming to a complete halt.

"Ooooooooooooowwwwwww…." He groaned. There wasn't a part on him that wasn't feeling the pain from that trip. He slowly shoved himself up, surprised that he hadn't broken his legs from landing so hard. "…What in the world was all that?" He said to nobody. "…What made me trip anyways?" His curiosity forced him to get back up to see. He walked this time, still sore all over.

He had to walk for a while, but eventually he found where exactly he had tripped. Or rather, where the ground simply refused to be there for him anymore. The earth had been literally torn into and ripped where his foot had landed when he fell. "…Did I do this?" He could only wonder as he stared at it.

* * *

"Mental restoration at 99.3. Repeat, mental restoration at… error, restoration at 99.6… 99.8…mental restoration at 100" The mechanical voice of the ARK's computer announced. "Beginning final resurrection procedures of subject Maria Robotnik." A pod very similar to the one that Shadow had been created in was against a wall, the glass on it was covered in dust. "Subject's status: Healthy. All traces of former disease have been eliminated. No wounds detected. Heart rate is normal. Muscle and bone structure stable. New DNA structure stable. Subject is ready to be awakened. Original estimated time until complete restoration, 7 months. Current estimated time until complete restoration, 6.2 seconds." The computer read off.

"Awakening subject." The liquid within the pod began to drain away as something inside settled to the bottom, the liquid did not even leave whoever or whatever it was wet. The pod slowly opened up, revealing that it was indeed somebody who was in the pod, female judging by the general shape. She moaned in the sort of way that someone does when they are waking up but do not wish to. However the bottom of the pod was most uncomfortable, so she was forced to awaken as she slowly stood up, resting one hand against the wall to steady herself.

She slowly stepped out of the pod and opened her blue eyes to look around. "…Where am I?" She wondered. She knew she was aboard the ARK, however she couldn't tell in what room. She went to brush a strand of blond hair out of her vision; however she soon realized that it was far more rigid than normal hair would be. True it was still flexible and behaved a lot like hair, it didn't still feel like hair, in fact the ends of it were somewhat sharp. Another thing that confused her was the fact that she was now wearing gloves. She also felt like she was slightly shorter than she should be. She looked down at the ground, as if to check if it was closer than it normally was, to see her own reflection. It was not of the young human girl that she was used to seeing, rather it was of a young hedgehog girl with blond quills wearing a simple blue dress. Maria Robotnik stared at the floor, in awe of her new appearance.

* * *

And that's the second chapter!  
Shadow: …Maria?  
Yep.  
Shadow: …  
Sonic: Pokes Shadow I think you broke him.  
Well let's see if I can fix him! I need him for the rest of the fic!

Comments make me want to write more! Although I might not work on this for a while as I'm busy trying to get my web comic to number 100!


	3. Chapter 3

Hello again everyone!  
Shadow: …  
Sonic: Nope, he's still broken.  
Dang, well waving chocolate in front of his face didn't work… Sonic, try bragging that you're better than him at-  
Shadow: I AM THE ULTIMATE LIFE FORM! NO ONE IS BETTER THAN ME AT ANYTHING!  
Sonic: He's fixed!  
Good, now onto the third chapter. And happy Winter-een-mas everyone!  
Knuckles: Not that stupid made-up holiday again…  
…You want to be beaten over the head with a controller? Then do not insult Winter-een-mas!  
For those of you who don't know what Winter-een-mas is, read Ctrl-Alt-Del

* * *

Sonic made his way out of the train station slowly. Needless to say, several people had stared at him while he was aboard the train, it wasn't often you saw the heroic hedgehog who was faster than the wind itself actually sit down on the train to get somewhere. Sonic was a little nervous about running off again after what had just happened earlier that day. So he simply walked to Tails' workshop… Or rather he tried to. He kept running into people who would either stop and stare at him, or come up to him and start trying to talk to him about things he really didn't wish to know.

After finally getting fed up, Sonic took of running again, but went slower than he normally would. He winced slightly as he was forced to keep putting pressure on his legs; one had been bruised pretty badly from that fall. He was relieved as he came to a halt outside of Tails' workshop that was set up in what looked like an oversized garage. Sonic breathed heavily, trying to regain his lost breath. "What's happening to me lately?" He said, voicing his thoughts aloud.

"Who is it?" Tails called as he heard the voice outside his door. "Just me." Sonic answered as he opened the door and stepped in. Tails looked up from the device he was busy re-assembling. "Whoa, what in the world happened to you?" He said as he saw the state his friend was in. "…I fell." The azure hedgehog answered, his head falling a little with embarrassment. "…All those years of running, and you trip now and do this to yourself?" Tails said with a chuckle. "Uhh, actually I didn't so much as trip as the ground kinda… broke apart underneath my feet believe it or not." Sonic said, a bit nervous how Tails would react to this bit of news.

"…You're kidding me right?" Tails asked as he looked at his friend in disbelief. "I may brag about what I can do, but I never lie about it, you know that." Sonic said as he raised his head again. "…Interesting…" Tails said as he looked back down at the device and picked up his tools again. Sonic knew that the way Tails mind worked, it was always easier for the fox to think of something if he was busy working on something. ("Still, it's strange, why would that happen just when I feel like I'm at the best of my form, and now all of a sudden I'm exhausted.") He thought as he took a seat on the same wooden stool he had sat on the previous day.

* * *

Shadow narrowed his eyes in irritation as he closed another book. He had snuck into the public records, trying to find some hint of information that might lead him to the answers he was seeking. So far all he could find about his blue doppelganger was records of his past heroics, nothing really useful. The black and red hedgehog put the book away and yawned. Then a look of confusion grew on his face.

Sure he was tired, but he had just passed it off as still being drained from using chaos control to get down to earth without bringing his emerald with him. ("No, that can't be it; I already recovered from that… So why do I feel so physically tired?") He thought to himself. He put a hand to his head and sighed. ("Now I'm getting mentally tired as well… I'm not going to manage to get back to the ARK today it seems; I'll have to find someplace to spend the night.") He decided.

Thankfully he knew of an abandoned cabin in some nearby woods that he used whenever there was some reason that he had to remain on earth rather than return to the ARK. It was only a short distance away and GUN had no knowledge of it, so it would suit his needs for now.

* * *

Sonic yawned for what felt like the fifth time. "Stop it, that's…" Tails interrupted himself as he too yawned. "…contagious." He muttered, finishing his statement. "Dude, you look beat, get some rest and call it a day." Sonic advised his two tailed friend. "I'm not tired…" Tails muttered as he looked for a pair of pliers. "If you're gonna stay awake, at least stop working, you'll just make mistakes that you'll have to fix later if you keep at it." Sonic said, trying to convince his friend. "…Alright." Tails said with a sigh as he pushed the device to one side.

"Good. Speaking of rest, I'm out of it for some reason. Mind if I crash here for the night?" Sonic asked as he walked over to the door leading into Tail's real home. "Sure, why not? I don't mind." Tails said as he fallowed. Tails' home was small, but had all the necessities. "Thanks bud." Sonic said with a tired smile as he turned the knob.

Sonic laid down on the heavily worn couch that Tails had in front of the television he grabbed the remote and decided to see if the news had anything of interest on before he fell asleep. He turned the TV on in the middle of a report. "-multiple jewelry stores have been broken into in the past week. The thief has always left all gold, silver, and cash, and instead only stolen the stores' gems. Of particular interest, one such gem stolen was a large emerald, one of seven referred to as the Chaos emeralds." The newscaster said in the usual monotone voice that all people seemed to have when on the news. "Heh, sounds like Rouge has been busy." Tails said as he walked into the room. He didn't get a response. Sonic was out cold and snoring on the couch before the newscaster had even finished the report.

* * *

The blond female hedgehog that was now Maria gently reached down and brushed aside the dust that had collected on the floor from over fifty years. Her own reflection became clearer. She wasn't exactly certain how long she had been asleep in that pod, but she had matured, as far as mobians were concerned, into a young woman. Her blond quills were about shoulder length, and she was wearing a blue dress similar to what she had been wearing fifty years ago. Instead of normal shoes, she was now wearing blue boots, that if she wasn't busy trying to figure out what was going on, she would have noticed felt quiet comfortable.

She wanted to cry out, scream in fear, call for help; she just wanted to do something. But she was unable to, she was too overwhelmed. She heard static, like a monitor being turned on. She turned around to see a screen powering up, revealing the image of a young human man in a lab coat. He had dark rings under his eyes as if he was suffering from a lot of stress. "Maria, if you're hearing this, then it is approximately over fifty years from now. I wish there was an easier way to tell you all of this, but I lack the time, GUN is still onboard the ARK gathering everyone they can find. Maria… sometime before I made this recording, you were shot, attempting to save Shadow from GUN…" The man said.

Maria's eyes widened. How could that be? She was here and… She couldn't think straight anymore, her memories were colliding with one another, only allowing her glimpses of what she last saw. The man started talking again. "I'm an assistant of your grandfather's. You see, while creating Shadow, he did find a cure for your illness, but it meant that you would have to give up your humanity. He decided to continue his research until he could find a cure that would not do so, however there was no time as GUN arrived before he could do so. You see Maria, I found you lying on the floor, slowly dieing of blood-loss. Dr. Gerald was already taken away; I quickly decided to do what I could. Maria, you are now a mobian hedgehog. Your new DNA is based off that of Shadow, with some variations to keep you as close to your former self as much as possible. You are now cured of your disease; however… you will never be human again." The man said.

Maria could only stand there and watch, so much information was overwhelming to the point where her emotions were unable to react to it. "There is something that should comfort you however. Somewhere, Shadow is still alive. Gerald made him ageless and he cannot die of disease, so he must be alive if he's still as stubborn as he is at the time I am recording this." The man said. "Hey! Someone's in here!" A voice said in the background of the monitor. "Oh no, they've found me!" The man said as he looked around wildly. He quickly turned back to the camera that had recorded the video. "The computer should be able to tell you where he is. Good luck Maria." The video ended there.

Maria took a moment to try and sort out everything she had just learned. One thing that stuck out in her mind was that fifty years had passed. Fifty years… everyone she knew and cared about was gone now. He grandfather, all the people aboard the ARK… everyone. A tear fell down her cheek and hit the cold metal floor, creating a dark spot.

However, the news that Shadow was still alive somewhere gave her hope. Shadow had been her best friend, perhaps he could help her figure out what to do now. She stood up to her full height, a confident look growing in her blue eyes. "Computer, locate Shadow." She instructed it.

"Last known location of Shadow the Hedgehog is in Central City." The computer informed her, displaying a picture of the city in its current state on the monitor that the video had been playing on earlier. "…Please suggest a way to reach Central City?" Maria asked. "Detecting a Chaos emerald aboard the ARK, suggested that request be fulfilled using the ability known as Chaos Control." The computer said. "Chaos Control? But I can't…" Maria said, but stopped herself. If her new DNA was based off Shadow's… then perhaps she could. "Computer, where exactly onboard the ARK is the chaos emerald?" Maria inquired. "It is near Dr. Gerald's laboratory." The computer answered.

* * *

It was early in the morning, so early that most people are still in bed sleeping, not even aware that a new day has already started. It was then that Sonic was slipping his shoes back on and grabbed some toast that wasn't fully toasted due to his impatience. "Tails, I'm going out for a run!" He called, when he didn't get an answer, he looked into the fox's room to see that Tails was still sound asleep. "Eh, figures." Sonic said to himself before taking a bite out of the toast.

Sonic took a look around before he took off, the city had only a few rays of light hitting it yet, making the majority of it look like Sonic was seeing it through a dark blue lens. The cold air blew through his quills as a smile grew on his face. He took off, becoming nothing more than a blur of blue against the gray pavement.

Sonic was amazed at seeing how different the city was at this time in the morning. Everything was so quiet, and the roads that were normally congested with cars were open. Sonic decided to go through the heart of the city, which normally was so busy and crowded that he purposely avoided them. However, it was the same as the rest of the city at this hour, quiet and calm.

* * *

"…Ok, it sounds simple enough…" Maria said as she picked up the green emerald. ("But I know it can't be that simple… I mean, according to this, the fabric of space and time are going to be warped around me… Calm down Maria, Shadow does this all the time; you can do it too… I just have to clear my mind and then focus on where I want to go…") She thought to herself.

Maria closed her eyes and focused on the image of the city that the computer had shown her. She closed her hands around the emerald, holding it tightly as she felt a strange sensation run through her fingers and down her arms. Whatever it was, it was soon flowing through her, creating a pleasant sensation that calmed her nervous mind. The energy of the emerald reacted with her concentration on Central City. Even through her closed lids she could see a bright flash of green light. She felt like she was falling through the air, only faster and that she actually had control over where she was going.

When she opened her eyes again, she was in the very same city she had been picturing in her mind before she had used chaos control. She blinked as the thought struck her. She had used chaos control, her best friend's signature ability. She giggled a little as she thought of what Shadow would say.

Something caught her eyes, it would have been simply a blur to others, but she managed to make out the vague outline of a hedgehog. Naturally she began to run after it, the only one she knew who could possibly run that fast was Shadow, so that blur could have been him.

She chased after it, actually managing to start to catch up with it. She was amazed at how fast she was running on her own that she nearly tripped. The hedgehog ahead of her noticed that he was being fallowed, and slowed down, letting her catch up to him. "Shadow?" Maria whispered to herself. When she got closer, she realized it couldn't be him. Many of the facial features were the same, this hedgehog could have easily been mistaken for Shadow's brother perhaps. But this hedgehog did not have black quills with red highlights, rather he had very unique blue quills. Shadow had confident red eyes that were one of the few windows to his emotions, and this hedgehog had wild green eyes like flakes of emerald.

Maria was about to apologize for interrupting the hedgehog's run, when he stopped her. "Nope, sorry miss, don't worry you're not the first one to mistake me for him or vise versa, just don't tell him that." The hedgehog laughed. "Say, how do you know Shadow anyways? He's not exactly the most social of people." He asked her. "I was about to ask you the same thing. I'm… a friend of his." Maria answered. "Hmm, a friend eh? Well, I don't know where he is at the moment. But tell you what, I'm impressed you managed to keep pace with me thus far, if you have a race with me I'll help you look for him." The hedgehog said.

Maria was a bit confused by the hedgehog's proposal, but if he knew Shadow, then he could help her find him. "We'll start when we hit that intersection up ahead." He said, not waiting for an answer. "Wait, what's your name?" Maria asked. The hedgehog turned to look at her, still running and smirked. "It's Sonic the Hedgehog." He said. They reached the intersection and Sonic took off, becoming just a blue speck in the distance to her.

* * *

And that's the third chapter.  
Shadow: What are you doing with Maria faker?!  
Sonic: Easy Shadow, it's just a race, I challenge anyone who's fast to a race.  
Shadow: I'LL KEEL YOU!  
Whoa! Whoa!... not until the next chapter Shadow  
Shadow: I can wait…  
Sonic: You can't be serious!  
Shut up Sonic.

Tell me what you think of it!


	4. Chapter 4

It's been a few days since I last updated. But here it is. The fourth chapter!  
Shadow: I swear, if anything happens to Maria…  
Sonic: Why is it that we're the only two that ever talk in these author comments anyways?  
Because, you two are the most amusing.  
Sonic: Gee, thanks…  
ONTO THE STORY!

* * *

Maria kept running forwards, trying to at least catch sight of Sonic. She breathed hard and fast as she kept going, it seemed hopeless to her. No, she wouldn't give up now; she had found someone who had promised to help her find Shadow. Even if holding up her end of the agreement seemed impossible, she would do everything that she could to keep up. She pressed herself to go faster, keeping her blue eyes ahead.

"That's how you run?" Someone asked her. She turned her head to see that Sonic was not only running beside her, but he was running backwards. She nearly tripped then and there. "No wonder you dropped so far back. Here, let me show you some tips." Sonic said while he shifted so that he was running forwards again. "Once you manage to build up speed, arch your body so that you're shaped sort of like a water droplet, it'll reduce the amount that the air presses against you. Also, don't take short breaths like that. Try and take long, evenly paced breaths." Sonic instructed her.

Maria was slightly confused as to why Sonic was actually helping her to run faster, but she did as he said. "Alright, that should help you. See ya!" Sonic called as he dashed off again. This time it took a little longer for him to become a mere blur in the distance to her. "…Strange hedgehog…" Maria said as she continued running.

Maria wasn't certain where the two of them were racing too when they began, but soon it became obvious. They were headed towards the city limits, she could tell because Sonic would periodically slow down, as if giving her a sign as to where to go, and whenever they went over a hill she could see the edge of the city ahead, growing closer as they went.

* * *

She smirked as she looked through the thick foliage atop the cliff side down at the massive alter below. The red guardian had left the giant emerald that his task was to guard in search of food. She had a very slim window of opportunity, and she was going to take it. With a fluid movement that showed practiced ease, she slipped over the edge of the cliff and caught the air with her wings, flying down to the large gem.

She landed a few feet away from it, making barely any noise. With silent steps she quickly approached the Master Emerald. Knuckles couldn't stop her this time. By the time he returned, she would be long gone with it. She climbed the steps and came to a halt before the massive stone. She smiled softly as she gazed at it and the soft green glow that came from it.

She looked behind her. No sign of the Knucklehead yet. She turned back to the emerald and reached out to touch its surface. "Don't even think about it Rouge." A voice said just before she was about to lay her hand on it. She retracted her whole arm and looked around wildly. "Up here." The voice said again. She looked up. The red echidna was sitting cross legged atop the emerald itself.

"How did you-?" Rouge started to ask. She was interrupted as Knuckles jumped down from the emerald to stand between her and it. She saw that he looked tired. The dark lines under his eyes showed that he had gone without sleep for quiet some time. Despite the fact that she could have sworn he had gone to find food, he also looked like he hadn't been eating for the past day or so.

"What have you been doing to yourself?" She said. She might hate him for being the one who constantly got in her way from getting what seemed like the absolute perfect gem to her, but she was still concerned for him. Knuckles didn't say anything. He just stood there with a glare in his eyes. "…Say something already!" She yelled at him. "…If you're so concerned with the Master Emerald…" Knuckles said. It seemed what he had to say was difficult for him to do so. "…Then you'll help me guard it…" He finished.

Rouge couldn't believe what Knuckles had just said. "Ok, what hit you in the head hard enough to get through that thick skull of yours?" She said. Knuckles said nothing. Instead he reached out and took hold of her hand. He gently pulled her closer to the emerald and pressed her hand to the surface of it. Rouge was suddenly speechless.

"…The time is coming… You can tell it too…" Knuckles said. "The Master Emerald shall soon become greatly endangered… and I…" Knuckles paused and sighed. "…I need help… I cannot guard the emerald sufficiently on my own… I'm asking for your help." He said. Obviously this action was a blow to the echidna's pride.

Rouge thought over the current situation. "…Alright, you obviously seem to know what you're talking about for once. I'll help you just this one time. Don't expect it in the future knucklehead." She said, folding her arms as she glared at the echidna. "…Heh, thanks Rouge…" Knuckles said, smiling lightly. He started to walk around to the other side of the Master Emerald. "Get back here. You're not going to do anything until you've eaten and had some sleep." Rouge said. "What?" Knuckles said with a confused look on his face. "I refuse to cooperate with you if you're going to be like this the whole time. So it's either do as I say or I just take my emerald and keep an eye on it on my own." Rouge stated. "Your emerald? I don't think so bat girl!" Knuckles said growling. "You couldn't keep me from taking it with the way you are now if you tried knucklehead. So get going." Rouge said, grabbing his arm and shoving him back towards the forest. ("…Maybe this was a worse idea than I originally thought…") Knuckles thought to himself as he started to walk.

Rouge turned to the large Emerald, her eyes reflecting its brilliant green glow. "…I guess staying near it will be enough to satisfy me for a while." The white bat said to herself as she looked at it. "But rest assured, you're going to be mine one way or another someday." She added, a little smile growing on her face.

* * *

Maria saw the city's end was getting so close that she'd be there in a matter of moments. She could see that Sonic was still ahead of her, and was definitely going to reach the end first at this rate. "I've got to go faster… But how am I supposed to…" She said aloud between breaths of air. She felt the emerald that she had put in her pocket grow warm. "…The emerald." She said, taking it out of her pocket.

It was glowing, very brightly. It filled her with an odd sensation as she held it in her hand as she ran. ("…I can use this to go faster and win this race. I just hope I do this right.") She thought. She held onto the chaos emerald tightly and felt the sensation run through her body. She felt the air rush past her continuously faster as her energy grew from the emerald's power. She was running faster that she thought she physically could. It was a joyous feeling. She, in her sheltered childhood, had rarely ever been able to do something like this due to her illness.

She slowed down and came to a halt next to a tree just beyond the city limits. She looked around; there was no sign of the hedgehog called Sonic. She smiled as she breathed deeply and rested a hand against the tree. She had done it. "What took you so long?" Or had she?

She looked around again quickly. She could have sworn that she had heard Sonic's voice, but he wasn't anywhere to be found. "Up here." His voice said. She looked up into the tree to see him. He was laying on a branch, one leg resting on the knee of his other, his hands behind his head.

Maria nearly broke into tears. She hadn't done it. He was still too fast, even using the emerald she hadn't been able to run any faster than him. A tear escaped her eyes. Sonic took notice of this and jumped down from the tree. "Whoa, calm down, it's just a race. Don't feel bad. I mean, no one's ever managed to beat me at one for a long time." He said. "…It's not that… It's just that…" Maria said in a low voice. "…Oh, I see." Sonic said with a smile that showed that something about the situation amused him. "You need to pay more attention. I said if you raced with me I'd help you find Shadow. I didn't say you had to win." He said. Maria looked up as her tears stopped flowing. "You see, since no one ever wins in a race against me, no one ever wants too. I just wanted to have some fun is all." Sonic explained.

Maria smiled as Sonic grinned at her. "Come on, I think I know just where to find Shadow even." He said. "Thank you so much." Maria said as she bowed her head to him. Sonic tilted his head in confusion as to why she was being so polite. "Eh, it's nothing. Here, it'll be faster if I run." Sonic said. Maria was about to ask him what he meant, when he took a hold of her hand, and took off running so fast that her feet left the ground.

* * *

Sonic came to a halt in the middle of the woods at an old run down hut built out of wood. Maria stared at it in disbelief. Why would Shadow stay here? "Hey Shadow! Come on out!" Sonic called. There was no answer. "Come on! I know you're there! I've got someone to see you!" Sonic called again. Still no answer. "…Maybe he's not here?" Maria suggested. "Hold on, I've got one more that'll get him outside for sure if he's there." Sonic said to her.

Sonic cupped his hands around his mouth. "Shadow! If you don't come out now I'll tell everyone that you live here when you're on earth!" He yelled loudly. The door slammed open. "Do it and I'll make your end slow and painful!" The ebony and crimson hedgehog yelled back as he appeared in the doorway. "I knew you were there." Sonic said with a grin as he folded his arms. "…What do you want anyways?" Shadow said, obviously irritated. "I brought someone who claims to be a friend of yours." Sonic said, pointing to Maria.

Shadow looked and saw the emerald in her hands. The same that he had left aboard the ARK. "Where did you get that?!" He demanded. She flinched backwards at his voice. She had never heard Shadow speak so… angrily. ("Wait a minute…") Shadow thought as he looked at her eyes. ("…I've seen those eyes somewhere before…") He thought. He searched his memories, and quickly something became obvious to him. This female hedgehog's eyes were identical to his greatest friend from over fifty years ago, Maria. They held the same kindness and love that he knew from over half a century ago.

"…Maria?" Shadow said, his voice holding a softness to it that seemed unfamiliar to himself. Maria took a step towards Shadow. "…You're…" He said, unable to believe what his mind was telling him. She nodded in response to his unasked question. Shadow slowly approached her, and then wrapped his arms around her in a hug as he closed his eyes. He didn't question about why or how she was a hedgehog. He didn't question how she got there. He didn't question anything. He didn't care. All he cared about was the fact that she was there. After he had seen her dieing with his own eyes before being ejected into space, she was alive, and he had his arms around her.

If he could have, he would have stayed right where he was all day. However, Sonic had to ruin it for him. "Whoa, wait a minute, Maria, the same Maria from over fifty years ago?" Sonic said in disbelief. He was about to ask nearly all the questions Shadow hadn't, but instead, he decided to take the opportunity to tease Shadow. "Who knew, Shadow can be affectionate after all." Sonic laughed.

Shadow slowly let go of Maria and opened his eyes. "Excuse me for a moment…" He said, before turning to Sonic. "…Get out of here now, or you know what I'll do to you." Shadow threatened Sonic. Sonic laughed aloud. "Aw come on Shadow. Calm down and loosen up. I wanna know what you're doing here anyways. You rarely ever come down from the ARK anymore, and Tails told me that you showed up the other day." Sonic said.

Shadow sighed. There would be no way of preventing Sonic from learning what he was doing at this point. He supposed it was Sonic's right to know anyways considering… "…Alright, but not now. Later." Shadow said. "Alright then." Sonic said. Maria decided to speak up again. "…Shadow… what are you doing out here in a place like this?" She asked him. "…Things have changed over fifty years Maria…" Shadow said. He didn't want to tell her. He didn't want to tell her all the things he'd done in his life. He was… ashamed of himself. "…Things have happened that I wish had not… I try to avoid people now." He said.

"Well, if you're going to explain things to me later, I doubt you are going back to the ARK anytime soon." Sonic said. Shadow seemed to think for a while. "…Sonic, I want you to find someplace for Maria to stay." Shadow said. "Wait, what?" Sonic asked, confused at the request. "I use this place because it's out of the way, but two people can't stay here." Shadow said. "Oh, I see… Although, I hardly see how you manage to stay here on your own anyways." Sonic said. "…Just get going. I'll see you tomorrow." Shadow said.

Maria stepped forwards again. "Shadow… Why do you have to stay away from everyone...?" She asked him. Shadow sighed. "…Most people think I'm some sort of monster…" he said, turning away, not wanting to see the look in her eyes as he told her. "…It doesn't matter what I do for them, their opinion won't change… That's why I stay here whenever I have to stay on earth." He said.

"…Shadow, if that's your reason, heck, you could stay at my place." Sonic suddenly said. Shadow was about to object, but Sonic kept talking. "I mean, my place is pretty out of the ways, I don't like having people bother me. Plus it's a lot better than this dump you stay at." Sonic said. Shadow glared at Sonic. "Shadow, just because people think badly of you, it doesn't mean you have to punish yourself…" Maria said. Shadow sighed. She was always concerned about him, even when she didn't need to be. "…Alright, but if I do stay there, you'd best shut up, and shut up good." Shadow said. "Eh, I was gonna stay at Tails' place most likely anyways." Sonic said.

("Hmm… I've gotta think of someplace Maria could stay huh?") Sonic thought. He didn't want Shadow to have another excuse to beat him up, and Maria was a nice person, so he was more than glad to do this. ("…I need it to be somebody we know, so that we can contact them easily enough if anything's wrong, and someone we can trust not to tell anyone. GUN would be pretty interested in this no doubt, and if they found out it wouldn't be good for either of them.") Sonic thought. ("…I know! Amy!") A smirk formed on his face as he came up with the solution.

* * *

Amy Rose placed her bowl and spoon in the sink to be washed later. She had just finished breakfast and was ready for the rest of the day. Her style had changed very little over the years. She still wore the same red headband and red boots, but she wore dresses less often, and when she did they were often longer and more form fitting than her old dress. She was currently wearing a simple pink t shirt and some jeans, for all she had planned for the day was to go shopping for some groceries.

First she did some minor chores to tidy up her home. She owned a decent sized house that had more rooms than she really needed, not that she minded. She came across something she had found several days back, the blue chaos emerald. She sighed as she picked it up to look at it. Its color reminded her greatly of the hedgehog she adored so dearly. Whenever she picked it up, she felt like she could feel his strength around her.

She was completely in love with him she knew, but she had learned a short while ago that she had been expressing it a little too strongly for her hero to understand. She had started to actually chase him less, and was more considerate of his sense of personal space. One thing she refused to do however was give him a hug whenever she saw him. Not one of those bone crushing hugs that she used to, she liked him just as blue as he was, she didn't need him turning any bluer from lack of oxygen.

She sighed again and set the emerald down; putting it back in the drawer she kept it in. She couldn't help the way she felt about Sonic, and she had no intentions of ever changing how she felt. She just wished that she could find out how exactly Sonic felt about her. He was her hero, the one that always saved her. And he had earned a piece of her heart long ago. What could she do to earn a piece of his? It frustrated her sometimes. Her thoughts on the azure hedgehog were interrupted as the doorbell rang.

* * *

And there you go, fourth chapter.  
Shadow: Can I kill Sonic now?  
No.  
Sonic: sigh of relief I was worried for a moment…  
Aw come on Sonic, you know you're my favorite hedgehog.  
Sonic: Yay!  
Shadow: Hmf…  
You're cool too Shadow. But I just like Sonic better.  
Remember, comments, reviews, constructive critics, these all make me wanna write more! 


	5. Chapter 5

And already I'm onto the next chapter!  
Shadow: Fifty credits say that it's several weeks later that he finishes this.  
Sonic: You're on!  
HEY! You two! No betting on how long it takes me to finish stuff! And you, yeah you, reading this. COMMENT FOR ONCE! I can tell you're there because the number of views keeps going up! If you're reading at least say something so that I know it's worthwhile to keep putting this fanfic up here!  
Sonic: . . .  
Ok, I'm done. Onto the chapter!

* * *

"Coming." Amy called as she crossed the room. She opened the door to find the very same hedgehog she had been thinking about moments ago standing at the doorway with a grin on his face. "Hi Ames." He greeted her, using his informal nick-name for her. "Sonikku! I'm so glad to see you!" Amy squealed as she threw her arms around his neck. "Hey Ames, cut it out, lemme go." Sonic complained as he moved his arms, trying to find a way to push her off without actually shoving her. Amy hugged him for a few more seconds before letting go of him. "Did you need something?" She asked him.

Sonic dusted himself off lightly. "Actually yes, can you do me a favor?" He asked her. She nodded quickly. "All you have to do is ask." She said with a smile. Sonic stepped aside to reveal Maria standing a few feet behind him. "This is Maria, and she needs a place to stay for the night." Sonic said. Then thinking quickly, he added "She's a friend of Shadow's." to avoid Amy from getting the wrong impression.

Amy smiled at Maria and extended her hand. "Hello, my name is Amy Rose, It's very nice to meet you." She said in an enthusiastically friendly voice. Maria took Amy's hand and smiled. "I'm also glad to meet you Amy." She said back. "Listen, I've gotta get going. If you need anything, you've got my phone number." Sonic said. With that, he took off, becoming nothing but a blur. "I wish he wouldn't do that…" Amy sighed. She then turned to Maria and smiled again. "Well, come on in." She said, stepping to one side to allow her new guest to enter her home.

Maria stepped into the house, first taking notice that the walls were painted a soft pink color. The house had little furniture and was tidy. Against one wall was some shelves, that were filled with various photos, most of them of Sonic it appeared. ("…I guess she really likes him.") Maria thought as she looked around, not realizing how great of an understatement that was. "You're a friend of Shadow's right?" Amy asked as she led Maria into her home. Maria nodded her head in answer to the simple question. "That's good to hear." Amy said. "Shadow… doesn't have many friends." Her smile faded slightly.

"…Amy… would you please… please tell me what has happened to Shadow?" Maria asked. "…Happened to him… that's a bit of a vague question I'm afraid considering who you're asking about." Amy said. "…What's happened to him since… since fifty years ago?" Maria asked again. Her voice was trembling somewhat. "Oh…" Amy said, starting to understand. "…Shadow… Shadow had a good friend fifty years ago… and she died one day, when the ARK was attacked by GUN… Shadow never really moved on from her death… But Professor Gerald went mad when he found out about her death… He manipulated Shadow's memories." Amy said, trying hard to find a way to tell Maria all of this in a way that would soften the sadness that was inevitable. "Shadow became angered… angered beyond belief… He believed he had sworn vengeance on the whole planet… and he nearly caused the earth to be destroyed because of it." Amy said slowly. Maria couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But, he stopped it from happening. He even caused himself to fall from space in order to keep his promise to his old friend." Amy said, seeing the tears starting to form in Maria's eyes. "We all thought he died that day… but he came back… the only things he could remember was his name… and something he never told any of us… Then… No, it's nothing. The point is that he remembers who he is now." Amy said. She didn't want to be the one to tell this girl about the Black Arms incidents. She didn't want to tell her what the confusion of his past had caused the black hedgehog to do.

Maria had a single tear running down one side of her cheek. ("Shadow… Everything that's happened to you…") her thoughts became unclear after that, she just felt sorrow for her friend… Why did everything like that happen to him? "Hey, don't let it get you down. Who cares what everyone else thinks? You and I both know Shadow's a good person, and that's all that matters." Amy said to her. Maria brushed the tear away with one hand, smiling at Amy's words. "You're right. Thank you." She said. "You must be hungry; I'll make some breakfast for you. Just tell me what you want." Amy said as she led Maria into the kitchen.

* * *

"Sir, we've received reports that someone accessed the military files from aboard the ARK." A lieutenant in a GUN uniform said. The GUN commander was in his office, currently reviewing some data over some new recruits. He immediately put the files down. "Shadow… What's he up to...?" He muttered, anger evident in his voice. "Any information on what data was looked at?" he asked the lieutenant. "Just some basic citizen information on one family… but more importantly, we managed to hack into a few of the files that were open on the ARK's computer at the time." The lieutenant said, handing the commander a folder.

The commander quickly opened it, his un-matching eyes scanning over the information quickly. A smile formed on his face. "Send out a warrant for the arrest of Shadow the Hedgehog, and bring Sonic in for questioning." He said to the lieutenant. "Yes sir!" The lieutenant said, quickly heading back out of the office. The commander turned his swivel chair around, the smile still on his face. "This time Shadow, we're going to learn just who you really are… You won't be able to hide anymore." He said aloud. He turned to his desk and picked up a phone, dialing a number. He paused for a moment, waiting for someone on the other end to answer. "I want you to send a squad to occupy the space colony ARK." He said. He paused again as the person on the other side answered him. "Good." With that, he hung up.

* * *

Shadow was trying to get some more sleep before Sonic came back to bug him about how he'd promised Maria he'd stay at the blue hedgehog's home. ("She knows that I'm more than capable of staying on my own in conditions like this. Why is it that she seemed to want me to go somewhere else so badly?") Shadow thought as he stared at the blank ceiling. He knew the answer already however. Maria, regardless of if the person could deal with the way things were, always wanted the people she cared about to be able to be as comfortable and happy as they could be. ("I'd be a heck of a lot happier with her than having to stay with that faker.") Shadow thought.

For some reason, Shadow couldn't stop thinking about Maria. Not that he minded, it was just a little strange to him that she was on his mind regardless of what he was thinking about. He assumed it was simply due to the fact that he still couldn't believe that she was back, after he was certain for so many years that she was dead. He was trying hard to concentrate however, there were important matters that he had to try and figure out. There was something happening to him, he was certain of that. Something about him was changing. He couldn't tell if it this change would be beneficial to him or not yet, and that is what had him the most concerned. Whatever was happening to him, he could only assume had to do with what was happening to the others that Tails had been recording data on.

He sighed and pulled out the chaos emerald, he had kept it after Maria had left with Sonic to stay at the home of the same hedgehog that had hugged him from behind after mistaking him for Sonic. He scowled at the memory. He looked into the chaos emerald, as if expecting it to somehow answer his questions. He had noticed that the emerald had begun to emit more energy than was normal as well. He took this as some sort of sign, as he had noticed that the chaos emeralds seemed to always emit more energy whenever something that was directly connected with the fate of the earth was occurring. But he had never felt a single chaos emerald release such amounts of energy, obviously what was going to happen was big…

Shadow sighed as he tried to calm his thoughts to get some sleep. He began to idly look through his memories. He recalled that the green chaos emerald was Maria's favorite, because it reminded her of the green lands of earth that she would see looking down at the planet from aboard the ARK. He realized that he was thinking about her again. ("What's with me...?") He thought to himself. Old emotions that he thought he had forgotten were reawakening within him.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud call of "Hey Shadow!!!" from outside. Shadow grumbled and slowly got up. He'd agreed to this because of Maria, and he wasn't about to go back on his word to her… but that didn't mean he couldn't find a way to make the most of the situation. This did mean he'd have more opportunities to annoy his doppelganger, something that he always enjoyed doing for some reason.

* * *

The world seemed to literally glow as he gazed upon it. The world was so rich in life, it's dominate species had spent years trying to find and name all the different types upon it, and were still nowhere close to it. The very essence of life seemed to flow freely from it. It was no wonder to him as to why so many of those whom fate had chosen lived on this planet. This world known as Earth was filled with the blessing's light it appeared.

And yet, already he could tell that the corruption had begun. Hiding within that light was also the darkness that carried the blessing with it as well. Soon it would grow, the evil nature of the darkness desiring to make the light its own, so that light and shadow would become unstable, both wielded by the forces guided by sin. It would feed upon the blessing, making itself stronger. They would have to bring those who carried the blessing to see their light.

He looked down at the small crystal fragment that he carried. Already it was starting. As fate proclaimed it would, those whom fate had chosen were beginning to experience the change. Their abilities would grow and they would slowly come to realize who they were. Then they would be filled with the true light, and they would leave this world behind, to assist in the true battle that had yet to begin. The crystal grew warm in his palm. "The time has come…" He said as he began his decent to the world below.

* * *

_Amy was all alone in the black void that seemed to go on forever in all directions. A strange glow from an unknown source kept things directly around her visible however. "Please, give him back to me." She whimpered. She was crying. Her tears left damp dark spots on the ground she was knelling on. She was short of breath and tired…so very tired. "Please… I don't want to be alone…Please give him back…" She whimpered again._

_Someone stepped forwards, slowly becoming visible in the dim glow. It was Sonic, but something wasn't right. His face was blank, utterly devoid of the usual smile he wore. An unnatural light came from his eyes, blocking out the green irises that she loved so dearly. "Please give him back…" She said, looking up at him. He was unresponsive to her words. His quills began to become a light color as unfelt winds blew them upwards. He became a golden color as he entered his super form. Still the unnatural light did not leave his eyes. He raised his hand, open palmed, towards Amy's head. "…It will all be over soon Amy Rose." He said in a voice lacking emotion. _

"_Please… Please give Sonic back to me…" Amy said to him as light filled her vision._

Amy bolted upright, breathing heavily. The same nightmare that had haunted her dreams for the past few nights had visited her once again. Each time she saw it, the nightmare would grow a little longer. Amy was growing terrified at finding out what would be at the end of the dream.

"Amy, are you alright?" Maria asked her. Amy had drifted into a light sleep on the couch. The nightmare had been causing her to loose some sleep, so she had been trying to get some rest. "Yes, just a bad dream is all." Amy said, not wanting to worry her new friend. Amy and Maria had become friendly towards one another rather quickly. Amy could tell that there were things Maria wasn't telling her, but she didn't mind. She knew that Maria would tell her when was ready to share them. In the mean time, Amy decided that it'd be alright to keep a few secrets of her own.

* * *

Sonic was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He was getting all fidgety and had the urge to run, but if he did then Shadow would most likely challenge him to a race, and he wouldn't be able to refuse. Last time the two of them got into a race, they wound up causing some damage to a nearby city. Nobody was injured, but Sonic thought it best to avoid taking that chance again.

Sonic sighed and closed his eyes. Things in his mind were bugging him. The strange energy readings, how his patterns of being tired and awake had been changing so rapidly, the sudden appearance of Shadow's old friend Maria as a hedgehog, and Shadow was definitely hiding something from him. "Man, things just keep getting weirder and weirder." He thought. Shadow had told him that he wouldn't tell anyone about what was going on until the next day, so Sonic was force to ponder what it could be on his own.

He turned on his side and grabbed the remote from off the nightstand next to him. He flipped on the small television set he had set up in his room, trying to break up the boredom. "The Guardian Units of Nations has been ordered this day to occupy the Space Colony ARK." A news caster on the channel the television had turned onto said. "What?!" Sonic yelled as he sat upright. "GUN officials have stated that this is an effort to capture Shadow the Hedgehog, the same hedgehog who only a few years back stopped the Black Arms invasion from annihilating the entire country. An official had this to say." The newscaster continued. The screen flashed to a man in a GUN uniform. "We are all indebted to Shadow true, however, he still did commit serious crimes that cannot be overlooked. We also have reason to believe that he is withholding information that is of great importance." The screen returned to the newscaster. "GUN is also attempting to locate famous hero, Sonic the hedgehog, in order to bring him into questioning." Sonic turned the television off and got to his feet. "Shadow isn't gonna like this one bit… might as well tell him now instead of letting him find out on his own and him getting ticked off…" Sonic said aloud. He then began to look through his home, trying to find where the black hedgehog was.

* * *

And that's the chapter! Plot starting to really get interesting now huh? ... Is anyone still reading this?  
Sonic: I think you scared them off with your little rant about no constructive criticism earlier on in the author notes at the beginning of this chapter.  
…sniff I just wanted some feedback…  
Shadow: Oh great, now he's an emo.  
…Don't. Ever. Call. Me. An. EMO!  
Shadow: …ok, backing away slowly now…

If you're interested in this story, you can also pm/email/catch me on messenger. I need a tiny bit of help with this, specifically it involves villains. I'll explain to anyone who's interested.


	6. Chapter 6

Ah, nothing like getting back to a chapter  
Sonic: Where've you been? Why aren't you updating your comic more often?!  
WINTER-EEN-MAS! I MUST PLAY AT LEAST ONE GAME EACH DAY!  
Shadow: … You are pathetic.  
I've been playing SA2 a lot.  
Sonic: This holiday's cool with me!

* * *

Shadow cursed as Sonic informed him of the situation with GUN. "Idiots. This complicates things…" He said aloud. "Well, looks like we're gonna have to get moving." Sonic said. "…We move at night. Easier to cover our tracks." Shadow said shortly. "Gotta find someplace GUN won't look for us." He added. "Angel Island would probably work. The whole place is floating, and since it's always moving then it'd keep them from tracking us." Sonic suggested. "…Good idea." Shadow decided.

"We'll go back to Amy's house tonight and get Maria, and then we'll chaos control to the island." Shadow said. "I'm gonna try and talk to Tails, GUN might try and talk to him in an attempt to get to us, and I doubt that GUN would use anything they found at his place with well intentions." Sonic said as he walked over to a cell phone he had plugged into an outlet, charging its batteries. He unplugged it and flipped it open, speed-dialing the fox.

The phone rang twice before Tails picked up. "Hello?" He answered. "Hey, it's me." Sonic said. "Listen Tails, GUN wants to arrest Shadow again, I know it's old news but they're also trying to bring me in for questioning as well. They've occupied the ARK, and they might come to you to try and learn of my location. I need you to hide your research incase they come, who knows what they'll do with it. Shadow and I are going to try and hide out on Angel Island." Sonic informed him. "Hmm… I'm going to come along." Tails said. "Wait, why?" Sonic asked. "Something really strange is going on, and I think that the Master Emerald can answer a few questions about what's going on." Tails said. "Hold on one moment." He then added. There was a pause for a moment. "I'm glad you called when you did, I just went to the window, there's GUN officer's down the street… Listen, I'll fly the Tornado 2 to my old workshop on the Island and speak with you there. I've got to hurry." With that, Tails hung up.

Sonic closed the phone. "Calling him was a good idea after all." He added, knowing Shadow didn't like more people than necessary to get involved in anything. "GUN was only a few blocks from his place." Shadow sighed. "This is going to complicate things… however it might just help us figure out what's going on." The black hedgehog said. "So we wait until nightfall huh…? This is gonna be a long day." Sonic complained as he looked out the window at the sun's position.

* * *

He walked through the city streets. Occasionally one of the shear thousands of people would stop and give him a strange look based on his wardrobe, but that was not of any importance to him. Few of these souls were pure, so many of them had sinned. It sickened him. He calmed himself and remembered that soon this whole world's fate would be determined, and then, it would no longer be his problem. For the light would govern the decision.

Something caught his eye, on the counter of an open corner café was a television set, presumably for those who were waiting for their drinks to be made to watch. He could tell it was a newscaster saying something about one of this world's military powers looking for a hedgehog that went by the name of Shadow. "…Who is this hedgehog, and why are they so interested in him?" He asked the nearest person. The person, who turned out to be a balding male, looked at him funny. "Where've you been the past few years, under a rock? That guy beat down those aliens that tried to destroy the whole earth." The man said, turning back to his drink.

He looked at the image of the hedgehog on the television set. ("Shadow the Hedgehog huh...? He must be one of those with the blessing of Chaos… The aliens the man spoke of must have been the Black Arms, which explains why they have died out. Foolish Black Doom, you knew very well that this planet's time had not yet come. Fate does not treat those that go against it kindly. Your end was one deserved and expected for attempting such a thing.") He thought. ("…I sense the ones of darkness are now beginning to come together… I must act quickly then… I shall go to this GUN.") He decided, moving along.

* * *

He scowled as the results from his test came back negative yet again. He was going to run through all of his test subjects at this rate. If this continued much longer, then those pesky law enforcement officers were bound to notice something eventually, regardless of their idiocy. He sighed as he stood up from his swivel chair in search of a method to dispose of the mobian that had died from the experiment.

The experiment itself was testing the reactions of various mobian life forms to chaos energy, however he had found a problem that was becoming increasingly difficult to solve. If he exposed the subjects to too small amounts of chaos energy, then it would have no effect and simply dissipate rather than be absorbed. And if he used too much, the exposure would kill them. Thus, his research was at a standstill.

"It seems that you're in need of some assistance." Someone said. He turned around quickly to find that someone had entered the room, standing in the shadows so that their appearance was masked. "Who are you? And how did you get in here?!" He demanded of the new figure. "It wasn't all that hard really; your security is a bit lacking Doctor Dejitaru." The figure said, stepping forwards enough for the dim light of the computer screen that set upon the desk the doctor had been sitting at only moments ago revealed his image. He was a tall mobian fox with entirely black fur. He was wearing an outfit that was the same color of his fur; boots, pants, and a long trench coat. His eyes however, were a blazing red color that seemed to glow in the darkness. "As for your first question, my name is Eneco." The fox said with a small gesture to introduce himself.

Dejitaru looked the fox up and down, he appeared to be unarmed, but something told him otherwise. "What is it you want?" He asked. Eneco slowly began to grin in a manner that revealed a lifetime of unjust and sinful deeds. "You and I have some common interests. You desire to create power, to know what lies beyond the current limitations of the evolutionary plateau. I desire to obtain power." He explained to the doctor.

"…And what makes you believe I intend to cooperate with you?" Dejitaru asked. "Simple." Eneco said, walking over to the corpse of the dead mobian. "…You've done many things Doctor… Enough to have you put away for a long time…" Eneco opened his palm, facing it towards the body. A red light, the same color as his eyes, burst forth from his hand, obliterating the corpse, not even leaving behind ashes or burns upon the surface it rested. "And that's if you plead insanity… not that what goes on in your mind could be cured." He dropped his hand, and turned back to Dejitaru. "I happen to like that about you. You have resources and knowledge. I have information and a few tricks that could be of use to you." He said.

"…One last question." Dejitaru said. "How do I know this isn't some sort of trick, that you're not just trying to lure me into some sort of trap so that I can finally face the price of all the misdeeds I've done or something like that?" He asked. Eneco's smirk grew. "Because," he began, lifting his hand and nicking his finger on one of his fangs. He flicked his hand so that a drop of his blood from the small cut hit the floor, where it began to sizzle and release some form of steam. A small hole formed where the blood had hit the floor. "When your blood becomes acidic to everything but yourself, you know you've done some things that can't be forgiven." Eneco finished.

Dejitaru began to smile. "I believe I'm going to enjoy working with you Eneco." He said. "We know you will doctor. Someone else said. Stepping out from behind Eneco, as if from nowhere, a female crimson red hedgehog with a complex black pattern on her quills and over one of her eyes appeared. "My name is Ira" She said, resting one hand on Eneco's shoulder as she leaned into him. She was wearing cross between a dress and a robe that looked as if it came from a time long ago by its style, it was black in color. "So Doctor, shall we begin providing you with the information to obtain a proper subject for your experiments?" Eneco asked, unfazed by Ira's sudden appearance.

* * *

Amy looked out the window at the GUN vehicle parked across the street. "Maria, go upstairs and don't come down until I tell you too." She said quickly. An officer knocked on her door. After making sure that Maria was upstairs, Amy answered it. "Hello Miss Rose. May I come in?" the officer asked. Amy allowed him inside, but kept her eyes on him.

"Is something wrong?" She asked. "No, nothing's wrong, we just want to ask you a few questions." The officer said. Amy frowned and folded her hands. "If it's about Shadow, he never tells anyone when he's here anyways, so don't know where he is." She said. The officer seemed caught off guard from her sudden answer to his unasked question. "Very well, but we were also hoping you could tell us the location of Sonic." He said. Amy sighed. "If I knew where he was, do you think I of all people would still be here at home?" She said. "That's not answering the question Miss." The officer said. "Then here's my answer. No, I have no idea where either of them are." Amy said. She had no desire to continue speaking with this GUN officer. She could tell that he was here for something more than just asking the location of the two hedgehogs. "…Very well Miss, I must be on my way now." The officer said, turning around and leaving through the same door that he entered.

"…Maria, you can come down now." Amy called upstairs. Maria walked down the steps, looking at Amy with confusion on her face. "What's wrong Amy?" She asked. "…Someone from GUN was just here… And he wanted to know where Sonic and Shadow were… And they rarely have good intentions towards Shadow." Amy said. Maria silently looked down at the floor, deep in thought. "…Do you think Shadow knows about this?" She asked, looking up at Amy. "I hope so, for his sake." Amy answered.

* * *

The day wore on slowly; finally the sun began to sink into the horizon, the sign for the two hedgehogs to get moving. "Ready?" Sonic asked. "Of course." Shadow answered. The two quickly began running back towards the city, with an unofficial challenge between the two of them was to see who would get there first. Naturally, as was the result with most of their races, the two finished at nearly the exact same moment. From there on, their rivalry was put on hold, for they quickly found that GUN agents were all over.

"…Chaos controlling to Amy's is out of the question." Sonic whispered to Shadow. Shadow nodded in understanding. While the ability would allow them to get to Amy's place without being seen, they needed to conserve their chaos energy for warping to Angel Island without drawing the attention of the devices that could pick up on chaos energy being used, a recent new development made by GUN researchers.

The two carefully made their way past the GUN agents, using their speed to their advantage. In the amount of time it took for one of the agents to blink, they could run a complete circle around them. Still it was difficult. The GUN commander must have somehow known they would be there.

They made it to Amy's house as the last of the sun's red rays was fading. Sonic knocked on the door. "Amy, are you there?" He called. The door soon opened, revealing the pink hedgehog. She soon flung her arms around Sonic in a quick light hug, before backing up. "What are you two doing here? GUN is all over the city looking for the both of you." She said quickly. "We know, they've occupied the ARK as well." Shadow answered. "We came here to get Maria. We're going to Angel Island for a while until they lighten up on their search." Sonic said. "I'm coming along." Amy said. "Amy, we can't let you do that." Sonic sighed irritated. "You can't get involved in this too."

Amy put her hands on her hips. "Not involved huh? I've already been asked by you personally to have someplace for Shadow's friend who supposedly died fifty years ago. As a human I might add." She said. Both Sonic and Shadow were startled by this. "How did you-" Sonic began, but he was interrupted by Amy. "How dense do you think I am Sonic? Like it or not, I'm already involved. Besides…" Amy turned and walked into her home. Seconds later, she came out, holding the blue chaos emerald in her hands. "I have this." She said. "What the, when did you get that?!" Sonic said. "A few days back. I was going to tell you, but you always ran off before I could, and you never answer your phone." Amy said.

"…We need to hurry." Shadow said. "Maria?" He called into the house. Within seconds she was at the doorway as well. "We need to leave." He explained simply, pulling out his chaos emerald. He turned to look at Sonic. "…Well, are we going on not?" He asked impatiently. Sonic looked at Shadow confused. "You can't be serious." He said. "She has made a point, and we lack the time to argue. So get moving." Shadow said. Sonic sighed, Shadow was right. He pulled out a chaos emerald of his own, the teal colored one, and began to focus. The two hedgehogs lifted their emeralds up and touched them together. "Chaos Control!" They yelled, warping the barriers of time and space around the four of them.

* * *

And I'm ending it here.  
Sonic: Dude… You made the chapter shorter!  
Shadow: And what took you so long to finish it?! It was still January when you started this chapter!  
Ok, one, I couldn't go on much longer without making the chapter a lot longer than the others, and two, I got Sonic Next Gen in the middle of writing this chapter, and beat it!  
Shadow: You said no fan characters! Who are those three in the middle of this thing?!  
Ok, so I broke that promise, I needed villains…  
Silver: …The heck? What am I doing here?  
Sonic: Oh great, yet another person to deal with in these things before and after each chapter…  
Suggestions for evil people welcome! Also, WHERE'S MEH CONSTRUCTIVE CRITIZISM PEOPLE?!  
Silver: …I'm going to learn to hate these things aren't I?  
Shadow: Get used to it. 


	7. Chapter 7

And yet another chapter begins! Still no suggestions for evil guys yet, and… Sonic, what the heck are you doing?  
Sonic: Showing the new guy around.  
Silver: Show me around what? There is literally nothing here!  
Shadow: Watch and learn. (grabs a brownie)  
Silver: …how did you do that?  
Shadow: The power of the author. (munches on brownie)  
Indeed.  
Warning, this chapter contains spoilers for the Sonic next generation game. If you haven't played it, then what are you waiting for?  
Onto the chapter!

* * *

Rouge looked up at the bright moon overhead as it filled the night sky with its soft glow. Its reflection was on the massive emerald that rested upon the alter behind her. Knuckles was currently asleep at the foot of the short series of steps leading up to the shrine. She had threatened to beat him unconscious if he didn't get some sleep. Just because he had asked for her help in guarding the Master Emerald, he still didn't trust her completely. Understandable when one considered her past efforts in stealing the gem. 

There was a sudden flash of light. Knuckles instantly awoke and leapt at the source of the light, his fist flying at it. "Whoa!" Someone yelled as they grabbed Knuckles' wrist and rotated their body around and out of the way of the punch, using the echidna's momentum to cause him to fall. Knuckles rolled with the fall, quickly regaining a standing position. "You've gotta stop doing that when we come to visit Knux." Sonic said as he dusted himself off. "Sorry about that, natural reflex…" Knuckles muttered tiredly. The red guarding looked at the four hedgehogs that were standing there. "What's going on anyways? It's a bit late at night to have a team reunion." He asked Sonic. The azure hero sighed. "It's a long story alright? First, let's get back to that big rock of yours so that you aren't constantly glancing back at its direction as I'm explaining." He said.

The four hedgehogs and one echidna made their way back to the master emerald alter. Rouge raised and eyebrow. "Shadow, what are you doing here?" She asked. "I assume you would know being a GUN agent Rouge." Shadow said, folding his arms. "I'm used for stealing items that are of importance to them, and occasionally spying. They believe it's not my business to know most of what they do. I usually don't care so long as I get my jewels." Rouge explained. "Sit down, this is gonna take a while to explain." Sonic said as he sat down cross legged on the grass. They began to explain the events of the past few days, including the research Tails was doing. "…Ok, I think I understand…" Knuckles said as he leaned against a broken pillar with his arms folded. "But why did Shadow come down here in the first place?" He asked.

Shadow sighed. It was time to explain things. After this, he would probably never hear the end of it, ever. "Alright… Sonic, according to recent files I found from Gerald… Apparently my DNA is based of the genetic structure of your family." Shadow said. All eyes widened at this statement, Sonic's the most. Shadow began to fill everyone in on everything he had learned. "…My family…" Sonic whispered. This new information brought back a point that he had tried to avoid for as long as he could remember. He didn't know who his real family was… In the earliest memories he could recall, he was always alone… Sonic sighed and closed his eyes. "So… What does all of this mean?" He asked Shadow. "That's just it. I don't know what it means. I came down here trying to find some information, but so far there's nothing." Shadow said.

"…Well, This island's big enough, just don't bother me." Knuckles said. He half expected Sonic to say something about lightening up and insist on bugging him as his blue friend normally did. However, Sonic was in thought. "…I need to go for a run." The azure hedgehog said, getting to his feet and taking off. Amy looked off into the forest he had run into and began to get up. Shadow sighed and stopped her. "…I'll talk to him… Sometimes it's easier to talk with your actions." He said. "Maria, I'll be back soon." He said before running after Sonic. "…Just to warn you honey, if something blows up, that's normal for those two." Rouge said to the blond hedgehog.

* * *

Sonic rushed through the thick familiar forests. He had not been to Angel Island for some time, but his past adventures there were still in his mind. He sighed as his mind refused to allow him to enjoy his favorite activity. He couldn't outrun his thoughts this time it seemed. He never had a real family. Something that he never normally would let bother him. There was nothing to make that fact that he ever had a mother or father real to him before. He felt he couldn't really miss what he couldn't even remember having… But the fact that Shadow's genetic code was based on a sample taken from someone in his family… that made it real to him. 

"Hey." Shadow's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "…I'm guessing this new information upsets you somehow?" Shadow said, folding his arms. "No… It just reminded me of something…" Sonic said, slowly coming to a halt. "…I see…" Shadow stopped a few feet away from Sonic. "…You up for a match?" He asked his blue doppelganger. Sonic looked at Shadow curiously. Sure Shadow liked to spar against Sonic, but he had never actually asked him if he wanted to fight. Usually one of them would just tick the other off enough until they started fighting. "…Sure." Sonic said, rolling his neck and knelling down to start stretching his legs. He always said nothing ever happened until you took action, so maybe this would help him sort out his thoughts.

Shadow lightly twisted his own wrists, loosing up the joints. The two didn't just dive right at one another. No, they would start running in the same direction first, picking up speed, then they would actually begin to attack one another. They rushed past trees, bushes, and other thick vegetation, not fallowing the beaten paths, only focusing on the other's location so as not to be taken by surprise. They were getting into the deeper part of the forest.

Sonic used a small hill to leap from, breaking through the tree-tops and soaring through the air. He brought himself down near where Shadow was with a homing attack. Shadow quickly speed up to avoid the attack, and then used a tree to swing himself around and head in the opposite direction without loosing momentum. Sonic had to roll to one side to avoid a sliding kick that Shadow sent his way. Sonic threw his fist at Shadow's seemingly unprotected backside. However Shadow jumped up and flipped over him, landing behind him. Shadow swung his leg around in an attempt to trip Sonic, only for Sonic to jump and twist in mid-air to bring himself facing Shadow again.

Sonic's mind began to calm as it focused on the fight with Shadow. Sonic may have never had a family, but he didn't need one. He had his own identity that he had established himself. It was who he was, and that was good enough for him… Or was it? Sonic had his friends. All of them had supported him to the very end, and once even beyond. He shuddered at what fragments of memories he had from when his soul had been forced from his body by the dark of Solaris, just so that the flames of that same false entity would be released for them to become one again. His friends had risked their lives through a distorted time and space to gather the chaos emeralds. Tails and Knuckles were his closest and oldest friends… Those two the closest thing to family he ever had, and ever wanted. Rouge and Omega, they only knew him through association, but they were still his friends, and had also risked their lives. Silver had believed that he had destroyed the future, but the time traveling hedgehog had managed to see beyond the clouds of deception to save him. Shadow, the ebony hedgehog wasn't about to let his rival die at the hands of someone who had copied his form and powers. Amy… Amy wasn't like family… she was something else… Something very different.

Sonic sighed. For some reason he felt ashamed of letting Amy come along. She shouldn't have become involved in this. If GUN used the same sort of tactics they used in past activities, she could become seriously hurt… or worse. That girl was always getting into trouble. It was naturally his job to get her out of it. He was a hero after all… Her hero.

Shadow landed a punch to Sonic's torso. The blue hedgehog jumped back and breathed heavily to recover from the attack. "Your mind's elsewhere." Shadow said simply. His way of saying he wanted to know what had made Sonic lose focus long enough for the attack to connect. ("What am I thinking?") Sonic thought as he shook his head, trying to rid himself of his thoughts of the pink hedgehog girl that had insisted on coming along. They stayed there. ("What's going on? Why can't I stop thinking about her? …Do I not want to stop thinking about her?") Sonic thought. Shadow slowly began to smirk. "Hmf, thinking about someone in particular?" He said, in a teasing fashion similar to Sonic's own. "What?! What makes you say that?!" Sonic yelled. "You're blushing, that's why." Shadow said, pointing at Sonic's face. Sure enough, Sonic was blushing.

Sonic began to glare at Shadow, gritting his teeth. "Shut up!" He yelled, raising his hand and then dropping it, as if throwing something at Shadow. A blue gust of wind shoved Shadow off his feet. He back flipped in the air so he could land upright. "So, ready to get serious now huh?" Shadow said as he drew on arm back horizontally across his body. His hand began to glow, a sign that he was about to use his chaos spear technique. "If you think you can keep up, then bring it on." Sonic said as a blue aura surrounded him, indicating that he was charging a Sonic Wind attack, much more powerful than the quick one he had used to get Shadow to shut up.

* * *

"To think, all that energy that comes from but a simple gemstone…" Dejitaru said as he looked at the chaos emerald Eneco had recently presented to him. "Yes, but you must be careful. Many who have used that energy without fully understanding it have met their end." Eneco said. "Now doctor, you said you had some connections with GUN?" He asked. The two began to converse about something in relation to this, while Ira, the female that had simply stepped out from behind Eneco out of nowhere, was looking through Dejitaru's research papers. Suddenly she looked up from them and off into space, as if in a trance. 

Eneco was quick to see this. "…Ira, what is it you sense?" He asked, walking over to her. Ira looked back to him and leaned towards him. She began to whisper something in his ear, in a language that Dejitaru could not understand from the bits and pieces he managed to catch. Eneco began to smirk. Ira then turned to look at Dejitaru. "Doctor, do you have access to any aircraft?" She asked. "Yes, but might I inquire as to why you wish to know?" He said. "I sense something that could aid us greatly; however I am unable to find its exact location. Without knowing that, even sending Eneco with his abilities over the chaos emeralds will make it difficult to locate. So we need another method of traveling quickly." She explained. "Very well then. Now, if you could tell me in what direction we should travel to locate this item that you are sensing?" Dejitaru asked. He had learned from his years never to doubt such things as sensing forces from a great distance. Ira waved her hand once, and a map of the world formed, floating before her. She rested her finger on a small nation marked Soleanna. "We will find it in this nation." She said.

* * *

He floated above the fresh new pavement, using his abilities to avoid traveling through the crowd and instead choosing to go over it. A few children would stop and point up at him to their mothers and fathers, he didn't mind. He'd gotten used to it by now. After all he had done, it wasn't surprising that they all knew his name. His world was finally finished healing. He had been credited with stopping the flames that fed upon his world… In his mind, he felt that he deserved none of it. 

His best and only real friend… She was the one that should be here, receiving small whispered words of praise. She should have been the one to see their world be filled with light. She should have been the hero… not him. He hadn't been able to do anything. She had stepped in, and sealed the flames within herself, and cast herself into another dimension to stop them from becoming released again. She could now never return… ever. He had left the city now, and was headed to a place that few people ever went… The place he had last seen her.

The volcano had begun to calm and its lava cooled now that the flames of disaster were gone. She had taken away the flames of the present, and the flames from the past now had faded from existence. His world was saved from the nightmare that had lasted over two hundred years. But it had cost him dearly… He had lost much of his strength to go on after she was gone. His life was empty and without direction. He had no idea where to go now. He reached the crater of the volcano, where lava still was far below. He bent down and brushed his hand over the ashes. "…Blaze." He whispered to himself.

The skies began to darken as black clouds swirled and blotted out the sun. Thunder rolled and echoed against the crater walls. He was on his feet and looking around wildly for the source of this sudden disturbance. He was filled with a sense of dread, fallowed by an eerily familiar presence. "Silver…" Somebody whispered to him. That familiar presence now became the source of his dread. Slowly flowing through cracks in the ground, a puddle of black liquid formed. It began to swirl and form a solid being that resembled that of a hedgehog. However it looked like its body was chiseled from stone and crystal. "Mephiles! But you-" He began to yell. "Don't even exist anymore?" The being of darkness laughed.

"Foolish one, don't you even wonder how you still remember the events even though through events that you and those others caused the entire timeline to become erased from reality itself?!" Mephiles said as the area where he should have had a mouth was moving. Silver stood shocked by this realization. "If you want to know what happened, I suggest you go back to events that occurred exactly two hundred years ago. Oh wait… that's right. You can't create a time rift without help from a second user of chaos control. Allow me to assist you then!" Mephiles called forth a giant ball of black fog and electricity, and engulfed Silver in it.

* * *

Sonic and Shadow made their way back to the Master Emerald alter, both having bruises inflicted by the other. Maria quickly got up and made her way over to Shadow. "Are you alright? What happened to you two?" She asked, holding Shadow's arm as she looked at the injuries forming underneath the quills. "Calm yourself Maria. I can easily recover from these in a short amount of time." Shadow said, taking a hold of her hands and gently pulling them away from his arm. "We simply were sparring, attempting to surpass each other. Sonic seemed to have trouble concentrating however." He said. Sonic made an angry grunt and sat down on the grass next to Amy. "Still managed to beat you as bad as you did me." Sonic said, knowing the fact that they were evenly matched infuriated Shadow to no end. 

Sonic sighed as he looked off over the edge of the island and into the horizon. During the whole fight, his thoughts kept wandering towards Amy for some reason. It was starting to disturb him. He used to find her annoying and overly obsessive, and now his thoughts were changing… What scared him more was that all his thoughts actually made sense. He felt someone rest their hand on his shoulder. He looked to see the same pink hedgehog he couldn't get out of his thoughts. She was smiling at him. Without thinking he smiled warmly back to her, then went back to staring at the horizon. Dawn would come soon. Everyone on the island knew without having to say it that their whole world was going to change. With the rising of the sun this morning, everything would start to change.

* * *

And chapter!  
Silver: (has pulled several random objects out of nowhere, but still nothing edible) I'm hungry!  
Sonic: (grabs a slice of pie) Here you go  
Silver: How do you do that?  
Sonic: Experience.  
Ok, to encourage people to come up with bad guys to suggest, here's a deal. Suggest an evil villain that I like, and not only will it appear in the fic, but you'll also get a short preview of a future event in the story. 


	8. Chapter 8

Finally onto a new chapter after so long… Bet you all thought I forgot about you didn't you? Nope, Shin's back and he's ready to write!  
Sonic: Great…  
Cut the sarcasm. Now, time to get into the meat and bones of the story. Let's see just how much I can cram in this chapter shall we?!  
Shadow: Somehow I know this won't bode well for me.  
Unfortunately Shadow, you are correct… MWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!  
Silver: When do I get a decent part in the story?  
Patience… I have plans for you. Now onto the chapter!

* * *

Sonic sighed as he looked at Amy, who had fallen asleep leaning against his shoulder. Her bangs were being nudged against her face by the gentle breeze, falling over one of her closed eyes. Her chest rose and fell slowly with her gentle breath that warmed the quills on his shoulder. She looked peaceful and innocent; Sonic didn't even notice that he had started smiling. ("…She really is cute.") He thought. Then his smile faded and he sighed again, shifting his view to the sky.

"…What's happening to me?" He wondered aloud. In the past few days, strange things had been happening to him. And with everything that he had been through in the past, for him to call something strange was saying something. His internal chaos energy had grown nearly as fast as he could run, and it was causing his patterns of tired and energetic to occur randomly rather than a normal cycle. Then a person from Shadow's past who had been human last he heard had arrived, only as a hedgehog, and Shadow was hiding something that somehow concerned him. And now, he couldn't keep his mind off the pink hedgehog lying asleep against him, and the close contact wasn't helping him.

Knuckles seemed to notice something on his friend's face that gave away his troubled thoughts. "Something buggin' you?" He asked. Sonic looked over to the red echidna. "No… well, yeah… it's weird." He said. "Wanna' talk about it?" Knuckles asked. Knuckles normally wasn't one to talk, but Sonic normally wasn't one to look so concerned about something. "Sure, just give me a moment." Sonic answered.

Gently as he possibly could, Sonic lifted Amy off his shoulder and set her on the ground. Briefly he brushed her bangs out of her face with one hand. He smiled again before getting to his feet and walking towards Knuckles. "So what is it?" Knuckles asked. "Well… it's kinda embarrassing." Sonic answered. "…Would it have to do with a certain pink hedgehog?" Knuckles asked as he folded his arms and chuckled. "Shut up." Sonic growled. "So what is it about her that you're so concerned about?" Knuckles asked. "It's just that well… I can't get my mind off of her." Sonic said. Knuckles threw his head up towards the air and began to laugh, clutching his sides. Sonic growled angrily, and punched one of his fists into his open palm. Knuckles got the idea and clammed himself down.

"What I mean is that every time I even start to think about anything, anything at all, I somehow start thinking about her. And it's starting to freak me out…" Sonic said. "I mean, the stuff I think sorta makes sense, but I don't know if that's just whatever's making me think about her so much telling me that, or if it's really me." He said. Knuckles held his chin with one of his large hands as his violet eyes turned up towards the sky in thought. "…Well, I've got one idea what it might be but… Have you felt the power of the emeralds inside of you acting weird recently?" He asked. "Yeah, remember what I did to that thingy Tails was working on?" Sonic said, reminding him of the conversation from earlier. "Yeah… that'd explain it." Knuckles muttered. "Explain what?" Sonic asked. "You're in love dude." Knuckles smirked.

Knuckles was soon rubbing a now painful bruise on the side of his face caused by the angry blue hedgehog's fist. "Heh, ok I deserved that one." He chuckled. Sonic tapped his foot impatiently. "I'm waiting still…" Sonic said, folding his arms. "Ok, when I said you were in love, I was telling the truth, sort of. You see, you are very strongly connected to the emeralds' power since you have tapped into it and been exposed to it so many times. As such, a portion of the emeralds' power has developed within you, becoming a natural part of yourself. This is your own personal chaos energy, and it's as much a part of you as the nose on your face." Knuckles began to explain. "This energy is directly connected to both your conscious and subconscious thoughts, that's why the emeralds' power reacts so strongly to the emotions of the people who use them, even more so for your own personal chaos energy. That's an example of its connection to your conscious mind, however now that your chaos energy is growing so strong, your more primal, subconscious thoughts are making it react. And you're at a point in your life in which your mind and body are near full maturity." Knuckles said.

Sonic stared at Knuckles, only halfway understanding what the red echidna was saying. "Let me try and put it this way… the part of you that makes you Super Sonic when you use the emeralds' power, that part of you is in love with Amy, and has decided that you're old enough to let her know that you want her to be your mate in life." Knuckles said, folding his arms. "…Super me wants me to marry Amy?!" Sonic yelled, grabbing the sides of his head as his eyes widened in panic. "Basically, yes." Knuckles said.

Sonic felt himself start to loose his sense of balance. How could his Super form love the annoying, overly obsessive, pink hedgehog that tackled him and begged for his hand in marriage on sight?

**("She hasn't done anything like that to me recently though.")  
**("But she's still just a fan girl. She only likes me because I'm a famous hero.")  
**("No, she's shown affection for me regardless of what I do. She's even defended me when I mess up.")  
**("But she's always getting into trouble and I have to save her.")  
**("She's more than able to defend herself. She's been training in order to try and help me… And I like being the hero anyways. Saving her is just another adventure.")  
**("Well, I do love adventure… But what about…")  
**("She's pretty cute… And other times she's just… beautiful…")  
**("Ugh, I'm turning into a freaking romantic…")  
**("It's true though. She is pretty.")  
**("...Touché Super Me…")

"Wait… Knuckles, how do you know about this stuff anyways?" Sonic said. "I learn such things by meditating and searching the Master Emerald for the answers. Its power contains a large amount of knowledge over the nature of the chaos emeralds." Knuckles answered. "…And you were trying to learn about something like this, why?" Sonic asked. Knuckles began to blush, causing the area around his mouth to resemble the rest of his body. "Well… uhh… ahem." He muttered. "…Oh, Rouge huh?" Sonic said as he began to smirk. "SONIC! I SWEAR I WILL POUND YOUR HEAD IN!" Knuckles yelled.

* * *

Shadow and Maria looked out into the horizon over the edge of the floating island. Shadow had one arm around Maria's shoulders, almost protectively. He still couldn't believe it…After all those years of attempting to move on from her death… It was as if he had to constantly be near her to assure himself she was really there, that she wouldn't disappear and it would all turn out to be just a cruel dream his mind crafted for him. Maria simply enjoyed that they were together… although to her everything had occurred just the other day, it still felt as if a long time had passed since she had last seen Shadow.

Shadow turned his head to look at her. "…Maria?" He said, causing her to look at him as well. "What is it?" She asked. "There's something I've wanted to tell you… since that day fifty years ago." He said slowly. He then sighed and his gaze fell to the ground beneath him. "…I've done some things that people of this planet hate me for… things that even after I have done everything in my power to seek redemption for them, they still hate me for…" He began. Maria could sense that he had been carrying this burden for some time now. "…I owe it to you to confess all that I have done… but before that, I have to say something…" He turned to look at her again. "…Maria, I-"

"Attention Shadow the hedgehog!" were the amplified words that cut Shadow off mid-sentence. "You are wanted by GUN for questioning. Surrender now. We are authorized to use force to contain you." A GUN helicopter rose over the edge of the island, an operative hanging onto one side with a megaphone in his hand. Shadow quickly got to his feet, pulling Maria up with him. "What do you want with me?!" He demanded, his free hand clenching into a fist. "You'll find out soon enough." The operative answered. "And you expect me to simply surrender just like that? You don't seem to learn from your past mistakes." Shadow said, a smirk not that different from his blue rival's appearing on his face. Shadow pulled Maria up into both of his arms before she could react and began running away from the copter. "Target is fleeing. Repeat, target is fleeing. Send in the mechanized units to contain main and secondary targets." The operative said into the communications device attached to his uniform.

* * *

Amy woke to feel a small hand shaking her lightly. She turned to see Tails smiling at her. "Hello Tails." She said, shifting to a sitting upright position. "When did you get here?" She asked. "While you were asleep." He answered with a small grin. Amy chuckled a little. "Well, why did you wake me up?" She asked. "We can't find Shadow or Maria." Tails explained, having been filled in on the story of their newest friend already by Sonic. "Sonic and Knuckles have already left to start searching, and Rouge is guarding the Master Emerald while they're gone. I assumed you would want to help." Tails said to her. "Of course I do." Amy said as she got to her feet and dusted herself off. "Ok, let's go!" Tails said as he took to the air, leading Amy off into the forests of the island.

* * *

Dejitaru stared at the small fragments that held a purple glow inside the vacuum sealed chamber through the small glass panel. "And you're certain that this will assist us?" He asked Ira, turning away from the fragments. "Yes… You saw yourself what they were when we found them." She answered.

When they had arrived in Soleanna, Ira had managed to pinpoint the source of the power she was sensing. It was at an old ruin near kingdom valley. At first it seemed that there was nothing there… but soon they found that was not the cause. Pieces of what could only be described as nothingness were gathering, as if something were attempting to escape the bounds of space and time. Eneco used his power to assist, causing the fragments they now had to appear. Or rather, re-appear, as they had been wiped from existence.

"A powerful entity was once sealed away in the object these fragments once formed… his essence remains tied to them. With the proper elements put into play, he can be called back." Ira said. Eneco stood by the chamber with the chaos emerald in his hand. "The elements are the force within each chaos emerald, and darkness…" He said, the same sickening smile that was ever present on his face. He held the emerald near the chamber and Ira placed her hand atop his. The fragments began to pulsate, and a small stream of energy from the emerald shot out, breaking the glass panel as it was absorbed by the pieces. The glow moved from the fragments like a liquid, running down to the bottom of the chamber. It hissed and steamed until something began to rise from it.

"…I…I exist?" The fully formed figure said as it looked down at its own hands. "Yes, you do." Ira said to it. "…I… I remember now…" It said, its crystal eyes shifting into a hated glare. "Iblis was released and I rejoined with him… but then… those hedgehogs… They caused me to be removed from time itself!" It yelled, despite having no mouth to do so. "Hedgehogs?" Dejitaru wondered aloud. "…Tell me, where the hedgehogs you speak of ones that went by the names Sonic and Shadow?" Eneco asked. "Yes, and a third, Silver. But he is not of this time…" It said.

"…I thank you for assisting me in returning to reality, but I'm afraid I can't let anyone know of my resurrection." It then said, blowing the chamber open with a wave of its hand. Eneco however was unfazed by the action as he grasped the emerald in his hand. It staggered, and fell to its knees. "What…. What are you doing?" It said in an exhausted voice. "You think that we were foolish enough to bring forth somebody like you without properly preparing?" Dr. Dejitaru said with a chuckle as Eneco pulled something from behind him with his other hand. "I managed to recreate the scepter that the fragments are of. However, we will dispose of it and grant you your freedom if you do one thing for us…" Dejitaru said. "You can carry out your vengeance on those who erased you… make them bleed. Just be sure to bring us samples of their blood. After all, the good doctor here needs samples to test on." Eneco said. "…Very well." Mephilis the Dark responded.

* * *

Tails and Amy were going through the forest, occasionally calling out for Shadow and Maria. "…Hey Amy, do you hear something?" Tails said. "Sorta… does what you're hearing sound like a low whistling sound?" Amy asked. "Yeah… It's so familiar, but what is it?" Tails said as he landed, trying to listen on it better. The sound got louder as whatever it was, was getting closer. Then it hit them what it was. "Sonic!" They both said, just as he dashed by, grabbing them both by their wrists and pulling them off their feet as he ran.

"What's going on?" Tails asked. "What are you running from?" Amy added. "Take a look behind me if you wanna know!" Sonic answered as he kept running. The answer came crashing through the trees. It was a large flying GUN mechanized unit. Weapons clicked into place as it flew at them. "Oh !" Sonic cursed as he pushed himself faster, determined to keep Tails and Amy from being harmed.

"Where's Knuckles?!" Tails yelled as he tried to stay as flat as possible to minimize how much he slowed Sonic down. "I lost him when the helicopters started chasing us trying to get us to give up. I think they want the emeralds too for some reason." Sonic explained as he jumped over a river. A missile collided with the ground just behind them and exploded. "How fast did they make that damn thing!?" Sonic yelled as he attempted to outrun the fallowing missiles.

* * *

Shadow was forced to come to a halt as several mechanized infantry units had blocked his path. "Maria, stay back… This won't be pretty…" He said as he set her down. She quickly backed away from the machines as their weapons clicked.

Shadow adjusted the base of his gloves and rolled his head once. "I'm going to make this quick, I don't have time to deal with weaklings like you…" he said. The infantry opened fire on him, but he simply jumped up and over the path of their bullets, quickly using a homing attack on the nearest one. He punched through its head, smashing the circuitry that allowed it to function, and then tore off one of its arms. He used its weapon to riddle the next with bullets, before the gun ran out of ammo. ("…Well if that's how much ammunition it gets then why put in a gun at all?") Shadow thought as he ditched the weapon. He charged chaos spears in both hands, launching them through the next nearest two, destroying them instantly.

Maria stood behind a tree to avoid being hit by stray fire. She watched as Shadow ripped the remaining machines to pieces in a matter of seconds without even having to really put any effort into it. Her eyes were wide as Shadow approached her afterwards. "…Don't worry, those are remote control operated. Nobody was hurt." He told her. That wasn't what was bothering however. She had never seen Shadow display such power, such destructive force… For some reason… something in her responded to that strength.

"Lets go, I'm hoping that everybody's still with the Master emerald." Shadow said. This time he helped her onto his back, giving her a makeshift piggyback ride so that he could better see what was in front of him as he ran. Maria held on as she pressed her face against his quills. They had torn through those robots just moments before, and yet, they felt so soft to her at the moment.

* * *

Shadow and Maria made it to the Master Emerald alter, however, nobody was there waiting for them. "…Hello?" Maria called out as she shifted her way off of Shadow's back. "…Where is everybody?" She said aloud. "…Rouge?" Shadow said as he saw the white bat lying on the ground. She was asleep by the looks of it, but why would she be sleeping when she was supposed to be guarding the master emerald? She wouldn't have simply fallen asleep… especially at the bottom of the shrine and not right next to the large gem.

"Shadow the Hedgehog." Somebody said. Shadow whipped his head around to look up at the massive gem, and more importantly the person standing in front of it. "…So you are one of them, one who has received the blessing of chaos…" He said. "Who are you?!" Shadow demanded. "My name is Vesteil…" The man said. He was wearing mid-evil styled clothing, heavy and long, and it was white and blue in color mostly. "…You have sinned… But you have also sought redemption…" He said. "…What do you know of it?" Shadow said. This man seemed to radiate an inner light… But that light held a disturbing presence… It held none of the purity that Shadow usually associated with light…

"…Yes… I can tell that your blessing is very strong… But are you the strongest?" Vesteil asked. "What do you mean?" Shadow said. "…It is decided then, you shall be the one to test the strength of the others like you…" Vesteil said. Shadow's eyes widened as he realized that this man was talking about Sonic and the others who could use the power of the chaos emeralds. "Fight and win until only one can stand on their own two legs anymore." Vesteil told Shadow. "…I'm not fighting any battle. Especially not against my friends." Shadow said firmly. It felt odd, yet right, to refer to them as his friends for some reason. "You must fight however. It is necessary." Vesteil said.

"…You and the bat that I have placed in a sleep each have one… two others are held by somebody else on this island… With the one that I have and the one that the military force known as GUN has, that makes six." Vesteil said, withdrawing from his clothing a chaos emerald. "So one remains… No matter. It shall turn up eventually." He said, putting it back away. "Stop talking in riddles! What do you want with me and the others?! And what do you have a Chaos emerald for?!" Shadow demanded. "I shall explain later. But for now, since you are unwilling to fight to prove who is the strongest, I have no choice. I am sorry for this, but it will help you on your path to redemption." Vesteil said. He opened his palm, and a light issued forth, growing so bright that they became blinded by it. When he closed his palm, Shadow had fallen to the ground. Slowly he got back to his feet. "…Shadow?" Maria said softly as she watched him. His eyes opened… but the same unnatural light that came from the man now filled his eyes, blocking out the warm red irises that she was familiar with.

* * *

And that's the end of the chapter. Whoa, got onto page six this time. Nice.  
Silver: I'm still not in the story.  
Sonic: …You really wanna get stuck in this thing?  
Silver: Yeah… why?  
Shadow: Have you not been reading?  
Silver: Not really.  
Sonic: …He's doomed.  
Comments please! 


	9. Chapter 9

And I'm back with another chapter of Call of the Chaos: Last Hope!  
Sonic: Does anybody actually read this fanfic?!  
Shut up! I've got… 13 reviews…  
Shadow: Most of them just your close friends or people who already read it commenting on more than one chapter.  
. . . Well then, it's time for some SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION! You out there! Yes you reading this! Like what you're reading? Well review and tell me so I know it's worth it to continue writing. And not just that, tell your friends to read it too!  
Silver: …What have you unleashed?  
Sonic: You don't wanna know.  
ONTO THE CHAPTER!

* * *

Sonic continued to run as quickly as he could while pulling Tails and Amy along with him. The GUN mech just kept fallowing him, something allowing it to travel fast enough to fallow the legendary blue blur. Bullets rained upon the ground less than a foot behind them. "Does this thing ever give up?!" Sonic yelled as he forced himself to go faster. He was having a hard time going faster with Amy and Tails, but the mech was just getting faster, and since it was flying it didn't have to worry about avoiding things that would slow it down like Sonic did. 

("We're weighing Sonic down… He can't keep speeding up like this.") Tails thought. He looked behind them at the flying mech. ("…Sounds like our best option at the moment. Hope GUN doesn't mind Sonic putting a few thousands of dollars worth of dents in their machine.") He decided. "Sonic! I'll take Amy, you try and stop that thing!" Tails yelled. "…Alright, if you're sure buddy." Sonic said. He let go of both of them, Tails instantly grabbing Amy and taking flight.

Sonic skid to a halt, spinning around to face the oncoming mech head on. "Alright, you wanna play tag? That's just fine by me. I warn you though, I play rough!" He said, his smirk returning to his face. He dove forwards into the air to meet the mech just as it was about to ram into him. In mid-air, he swung his foot out, leaning his body back so that he shot down at it like a rocket. He collided with the metal hull of the mech and ricocheted off of it, the collision spot being bent inwards by the force. Sonic landed on his feet a short distance away, and quickly starting running again. "Man, this thing's a lot better built than others, it's still in one piece… I guess I'll just have to step things up a notch!"

Sonic ran straight at the mech again, dodging in and around as it fired its weapons repeatedly at him in an attempt to stop him. Sonic leapt up, this time going for height. The mech, unable to change course in time, passed straight underneath him. Just as the top of it was passing by, Sonic flipped, bringing both of his feet up and over to smash into it. Still only a large dent was formed. Sonic landed on the ground and didn't wait for the mech to right itself. He curled himself up just as he built up enough speed and rammed into the mech again, an earsplitting sound issuing forth as the metal was warped by the hedgehog. Sonic eventually backed off, jumping backwards to put some distance between himself and the mech.

"Now for the finisher." Sonic said as he pulled out his chaos emerald, holding it in his left hand. He was soon surrounded by a blue aura that flowed around him like a twister. The mech was preparing for one last charge, a desperation attempt to stop the blue hedgehog. Sonic simply smirked. "You're dreaming." He said. As he took off running, the blue aura began to flare up in preparation. The mech dove straight for Sonic, all of its heavy weaponry blazing. The bullets never even stood a chance of reaching their target. By the time they hit the ground, Sonic was already flying through the air, his right hand balled into a fist and drawn back as the aura began to concentrate around it. Sonic threw his fist forwards, colliding with the mech in the spot he originally attacked. Only this time he went clean through and out the other side like a bullet through tissue paper. Shortly after clearing the other side, the mech began to explode from the inside, flames shooting out the hole the hedgehog had formed.

Sonic covered his face with one arm to keep himself from being harmed by the explosion. As the scrap of the mech collapsed to the ground, he slowly lowered it to stare at what he had done. "Wow Sonic you obliterated that thing!" Tails called from above as he lowered his altitude to land. ("I did… But I was just trying to bust the thing, not blow it to bits…") Sonic thought as he continued to stare at the wreckage. Finally he chuckled and turned to Amy and Tails who just set their feet back on the ground. "Heh, guess I don't know my own strength." He said.

"Umm Sonic?" Amy said. "What is it Ames?" Sonic asked, using his informal nick-name for her. "…I know this isn't exactly the right time to be complaining but… When that mech started chasing us… I felt like something was pressing against me… Then when you started to use the chaos emerald I felt… Well, something similar but different…" She said. "…Uhh Amy? What are you talking about?" Sonic asked, confused by her words. "…For some reason, I think that mech had a chaos emerald." She said.

"What? That's not possible, GUN's not stupid enough to put a chaos emerald in something like that. That's like handing your enemy a weapon or-" Sonic was saying, when suddenly he felt the familiar presence of a chaos emerald coming from the mech's scrap pieces. "…Then again, maybe they are…" He said as he turned to the heap of charred metal. After some time of digging and shifting, there it was, a chaos emerald, setting perfectly unharmed inside the former mech. "...I don't believe it… Amy, you sensed a chaos emerald somehow." Tails said. "But she's never tapped into the emerald's power before, how could she sense something like that?" Sonic wondered aloud. "I don't know… I just felt something and for some reason it reminded me of the chaos emeralds." Amy responded.

Sonic looked down at the chaos emerald he had, and the one he had just retrieved from the scraps. "I have three now including the one Amy had and these, Shadow has one, and I know from watching the news that Rouge has one… That makes five… but for some reason I can feel a sixth emerald on the island… and it's moving." He said. "Maybe GUN had another one?" Tails suggested. "I don't think so buddy… I've learned over time not only to sense an emerald when it's being used nearby, but also the intensity of the energy it's releasing, and whoever has this thing knows what to do with it." Sonic said. "…Come on, let's try and find the others." Sonic tucked the two emeralds away and grabbed Amy and Tails' hands again before dashing off, carrying them along.

* * *

Knuckles glided above the treetops, occasionally he had to push off the top of one of them to regain his altitude. He was busy trying to look for Sonic. He had lost sight of the blue hedgehog after the GUN flying mechanized unit had ambushed them, and then he had found his own troubles after smaller infantry units started to chase him. It took only a short time to crush them, and now he was attempting to regroup. If GUN was on his island, he wanted them off it. 

He search was interrupted as a flash of yellow energy bolted past him, narrowly missing his head. He fell from the air and hit the ground with a soft thud. He quickly got back on his feet, his fists held up as he looked around wildly for the source of the attack. He found it in moments, a black and crimson hedgehog with eyes that were blotted out by a foreign light. "What the hell Shadow?!" Knuckles yelled at him. Shadow said nothing. He simply charged another chaos spear and threw it at the echidna. Knuckles dropped to the ground, the spear passing over his head.

Knuckles was not exactly the most logical thinking person in the world. Perhaps if he was he would have put Shadow's strange behavior and the strange light coming from his eyes together. All he knew was that Shadow was trying to fight with him, and he wasn't going to sit there and get pummeled. "Alright Shadow, you want a fight I hope you're ready to be left in pieces!" Knuckles yelled, jumping from his crouched position. His fist was drawn back, intending to smash into the hedgehogs head. Shadow simply jumped backwards. Knuckles fist met the dirt instead, leaving a small crater.

Knuckles continued the offensive, dashing forwards again with a horizontal swipe, then a jab, then an uppercut. Shadow dodged each attack as it came. Knuckles gritted his teeth and tried another jab, only this time he wasn't as lucky to have the hedgehog merely dodge the attack. Shadow moved to one side, and caught the echidna's wrist, holding it in a vice like grip. Knuckles stared at Shadow's face, seeing the light filled glare that the black hedgehog gave him. For a short instant… Knuckles felt terrified.

Shadow using only the one had he had holding Knuckles' wrist, threw him up over his head, turned and brought him smashing into the ground headfirst. Knuckles was knocked cold by the attack. Rather than cause him any further harm, Shadow simply let go off the echidna's wrist and stepped back to look at him. "…You know of the blessing of chaos… you have this blessing… yet you do not fully understand how to use it." He said, his voice monotone. He chaos controlled away in a short flash of green light and nothing more.

* * *

Sonic slowed his pace as the master emerald alter came into view. "…Where are the others?" He wondered aloud as he looked around, seeing nobody there. "There's Maria." Amy commented as she saw the blond hedgehog running towards them. Sonic started to wave his hand, when he noticed the frightened look on Maria's face. She stopped short of them, doubling over as she tried to catch her breath. "Shadow… Not himself… A man… Light…" She said in-between breaths. 

"Calm down. We can't understand what you're saying." Tails said to her. She stopped attempting to talk and breathed heavily. "Ok, now tell us what happened." Sonic said as she began to catch her breath. "Somebody was at the emerald alter when we came here, he had a chaos emerald and he's somehow controlling Shadow with some sort of weird light…" She said. Her eyes quivered as she recalled it. "He said something about making him fight until only one person could stand… I think he's going to come after you!" She said.

Sonic stood quietly as he let the information soak in. "…Don't worry Maria. We'll handle it." He said to her with a smile. "Shadow's too strong to let somebody manipulate him for long. We'll make sure he comes back as himself!" Amy added brightly. "Where's Rouge?" Tails asked, noticing the bat was not present. "The man made her fall asleep somehow… I think she's alright but I can't tell…" Maria said. "Amy, you and Maria stay here and keep the emerald safe and make sure Rouge is alright. Tails, you try and find Knuckles. I'm going to try and find Shadow… with all these GUN units around I don't think him being controlled will reflect well on them." Sonic said.

"No need to look for your red friend." An amplified voice said. The whirl of helicopter blades could be heard from above them. They looked up to see the GUN helicopter from before hovering above them. "I suggest you come without force." The operative holding onto the side said to them through the megaphone in his hand. "…Sorry bud, but I have another hedgehog to try and catch." Sonic said as he dashed off. The helicopter started to move after him, as if intending to chase him. "Let him go for now." The operative said. "Right now let's deal with the suspects we have contained." He said. Tails frowned. He didn't like the sound of how this was going.

* * *

Sonic ran past the mountains, through the forest and past the ruins, and through one of the tunnels that seemed to liter the island, but still no sign of Shadow. "Where the heck is he?" He muttered to himself as he attempted to find his black and red doppelganger. Finally his question was answered as a chaos spear shot by him. He skidded to a halt and whipped his head around. Shadow was standing, or rather hovering with his air shoes, at the top of the small waterfall near the edge of the forest. 

"…You… You're the only possible one…" Shadow said. "What are you talking about?!" Sonic demanded, putting up his fists. "You're the only other one who might be the one whose blessing is the strongest… Shadow said. "…You're the only one I really need to fight." He said, skating forwards and down the waterfall. "Shadow snap out of it!" Sonic yelled.

"Fight me. Prove who is strongest." Shadow said as he approached Sonic. "I'm not fighting you like this!" Sonic yelled. "It is necessary. For those who are worthy. They must be lead." Shadow said as he threw his fist at Sonic's face. Sonic dodged to one side of it, only to have to roll under a roundhouse kick the other hedgehog sent at him. Sonic dove behind Shadow and grabbed both of his arms, attempting to keep him from continuing to attack him. "Didn't you hear me the first time? I said I'm not fighting you like this!" Sonic yelled in his ear.

Shadow wasn't listening. He jumped up and backwards, taking Sonic off of his feet and into the air as well. When he landed he whipped his arms around to bring Sonic smashing onto the ground on his back. Sonic's breath was forced from his lungs by the collision. "…If you won't fight me… then I'll have to try and convince you too." Shadow said as he straightened up. "…Forgive me Sonic… But if it is the only way to get you to fight, then I must capture your heart's mate." Shadow said. "…I have three emeralds and you have three… Bring the seventh to Central City, and we'll finish this." Shadow then used chaos control to warp away, leaving a confused and panting blue hedgehog lying on the ground.

Sonic slowly managed to force himself back up onto both of his feet. "Heart's mate? The heck does that mean?" He wondered aloud. "…Well, if he wants the seventh chaos emerald, then this won't end well whatever it…" Sonic trailed off as he remembered the conversation he had with Knuckles earlier that day. "Oh no… Amy."

* * *

Eneco stared at the red chaos emerald he held loosely in one of his hands. His blazing red eyes seemed to reflect it as he stared. "…Eneco? What is on your mind?" Ira asked. "…Somebody is gathering the emeralds… And this is the only one that they do not yet have accounted for." The black furred fox explained, not taking his eyes off the gem. "…Perhaps we should give it to them… I am morbidly curious as to what their goal is." He said, his sinister grin forming again. 

"What?! Why would you simply give something of such power away?! Are you forgetting that its energy is the key behind my research?!" Dejitaru yelled, staring at Eneco as if he were crazy… Well, aside from the mad-man like qualities the fox normally showed. "Let them have it Doctor." Ira said. Eneco then looked up from the gem as he heard Ira's words. "…So, they have returned after all these years… this world's time must be near." She said, a smile forming on her face.

"…What are you talking about?" Dejitaru asked her. "Allow me to explain Doctor. Ira is not of this time, she comes from the distant past. She and I met when I happened to find her sealed away for what the ones from the past had hoped would be eternity… Pity they were so concerned about keeping her from getting out that they failed to plan for what would happen if somebody tried to get in." Eneco chuckled at the memory. "But enough reminiscing. Ira, what is it that has returned?" He asked the female hedgehog that was his companion.

"The Union of Light has returned to Earth… Foolish ones who are too blinded by their own precious light to realize what they really are… However their presence suggests that this planet's end is coming soon… they must be gathering those who have the blessing of chaos…" Ira said. "The same ones that we require for your research Doctor." Eneco said. "…However the end of this world could be both far off and yet very near at the same time… I suggest we allow them to have the emerald for the time being. We shall have it back soon enough." Ira finished. "Very well… Let's see just how fast this hedgehog is willing to run for it." Eneco said with a grin as he chaos controlled the emerald out of his hand.

* * *

END CHAPTER! Whoo, that was one of the fastest chapters I've written in a while.  
Silver: WHAT ABOUT ME?! AND MEPHILES?!  
You'll both show up soon enough. For now I have to take care of a few earlier loose ends, like Amy's weird dream thing.  
COMMENTS AND REVIEWS PLEASE!!! 


	10. Chapter 10

And the shameless self promotion continues!  
Sonic: Good lords he's advertising in the author comments of his sprite comic now…  
Silver: And again I am only in the stupid things at the beginning and end of each chapter…  
Sonic: Hey, where's Shadow?  
Well he's under the control of that light union guy right now so… if I had him in here he'd be trying to fight both of you.  
Sonic: …and what else is new?  
Point made. Anyways, as always read, leave a comment or review, and tell your friends!

* * *

Sonic had chaos controlled from Angel Island back to the outskirts of Central City. His mind was in a panic. Shadow was under some sort of control and was going to go after Amy if he didn't bring the seventh chaos emerald and fight with him, and GUN had all of his friends in custody. To make matters worse, he had no clue what-so-ever where the last chaos emerald could be found.

It seemed that GUN hadn't given up on finding him either. They had agents and their patrol robots scattered throughout the city, some of them even armed. One of the patrol robots floated dangerously close to his current hiding spot, so he dashed around behind it, concealing himself down an alleyway. Sonic sighed and looked up into the darkening twilight sky.

"…What am I gonna do?" Sonic wondered aloud. Sure he'd been through some tough spots like this before, but usually he had some idea of where to go or what to do. Right now he had no leads, hints, or hunches as to where to look for the last chaos emerald. He wished his friends were there to help him. Their presence alone could give him strength to move through even the worst situations sometimes.

Sonic grumbled and slapped himself on the head. ("Come on, this isn't like me!") He thought, standing up straight. ("I don't sit down and give up just because I'm lost. I need to find that last emerald, and I've got three already to help me find it.") He thought, his usual confidence building as his signature smirk was restored on his face. "Alright, first thing's first, get out of this city and start looking for that emerald!" He said aloud. As if rewarding him for acting like himself again, he felt the energy of the last chaos emerald, and it was coming from nearby. "That's more like it!" He said with a grin as he ran out of the alley and towards where he felt the emerald's power. In a matter of seconds he was skidding to a halt. "…Oh come on!" He yelled as he realized the irony of the situation.

The last chaos emerald was somewhere inside the Central City GUN headquarters.

* * *

Tails was pacing back and forth inside the GUN holding cell, a habit he had picked up from spending so much time around Sonic. They had been here for what he guessed to be about two hours, and yet still nobody had come to them to tell them anything. He was getting angry, what in the world gave them the authority to put them in holding cells without even telling them why they were wanted in the first place?! He finally got tired and sat down on the bed that was bolted and chained to one of the walls.

Amy was in the cell next to Tails with Maria, while Knuckles was in the next one down. The red echidna had regained consciousness some time earlier, and had wanted to bust his way out right then and there. But Tails had advised him against it, knowing that GUN would probably look for any excuse to keep them held there anyways, they didn't need to be helping them out by trying to break out.

Amy was tired, but afraid to fall asleep. She had done so about half an hour ago, only to be met with another dream of Sonic with the strange light blocking out his eyes again. She prayed to herself silently that whatever had happened to Shadow wasn't somehow related. The way Maria had described what had happened to his eyes… It was just too similar. There had to be a connection. But she was here in a holding cell, and unless she wanted an entire military after her, she would have to stay there.

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light inside of Amy and Maria's cell. When it faded, Shadow stood there, his eyes still blocked out by the impure light. "Shadow!" Maria yelled. Shadow seemed to ignore her, instead looking at Amy. "…You must come with me." He said, grabbing her by the wrist and yanking her to her feet off the bed she had been sitting on. She attempted to free herself from his grip in vain. His grip was far too strong for her to break loose from.

Shadow was about to leave the cell using chaos control, but he was stopped when Maria stepped directly in front of him. "Shadow please, why are you doing this?" She asked, tears forming in her eyes. Shadow's expression softened, although the light did not leave his eyes. "…I am sorry Maria. This is necessary." He said to her. "…I will come back to free you from here later." He said. With that, he chaos controlled, taking Amy with him.

"Come back here you coward!" Knuckles yelled. As if sensing that Knuckles was about to break the wall between his and Maria's cell with his fist, Tails quickly called out "Knuckles stay put! We can't do anything now…" Tails hated having to admit that, but it was true. They couldn't fallow Shadow's chaos control, and they could leave to look for him without having all of GUN after them. Knuckles grunted and folded his arms. His was angry and had no way to vent it on anything… They all hated feeling so useless.

Suddenly they heard a loud sound that could only be described as a sonic boom. "…The hell was that?" Knuckles said aloud. Tails head fell into his hands. "Please don't tell me that Sonic's in here…" He said aloud.

* * *

("So far so good…") Sonic thought as he hid around another corner to avoid being seen by a passing GUN officer. He had managed to sneak into the base through an air duct, but quickly found he made too much noise that way. And most of the directions he wanted to take were blocked off by a fan or some sort of filter. Getting out of the ducts had been a close call, somebody came looking as soon as they heard him kick out the vent in the ceiling, and he had dove into a storage closet to try and hide. Luckily for him the person decided the vent had fallen out because of a worn out screw.

Sonic could sense the emerald was someplace nearby, but he was having trouble finding which way to go to find it, and was getting quickly frustrated. Finally he had a stroke of luck. He felt the emerald's energy coming from just down the hallway. He ran down it with a confident smirk on his face, however almost tripped over himself when he found it. It was just laying there on the floor. Nothing was guarding it, nobody watching over it, nothing. "…It can't be this easy…" He thought aloud as he walked over to it and bent down to pick it up.

As his fingers touched the surface of it, it suddenly pulsated with power. "What the heck?!" Sonic jumped back slightly as the emerald floated up off the floor. "So hedgehog…" A voice from nowhere said. "You want the chaos emerald? Let's play a little game for it. Catch the emerald, and it's yours." The voice said. The emerald suddenly shot forwards, going down the hallway. "Hey!" Sonic yelled, running after it.

Unfortunately the emerald had no reason to be stealthy like Sonic had been earlier. It went straight past a group of GUN officers carrying files. "Aw crap! Excuse me guys!" Sonic yelled, running right past them, causing the files they had been carrying to scatter by the force of the air moved by his speed. Sonic kept running after the Emerald as it went left and right through the base, moving past the office area and into the more high security regions where GUN stocked their mechs, weapons, and other military goods. The alarm was ringing now that his presence had been revealed. "Just not my day…" Sonic grumbled as he was forced to jump over a GUN officer that had moved in his way telling him to freeze. This was not helping him get on GUN's good side…

The emerald wove in and around the feet of various battle machines, Sonic having to mimic its path with as short of distance as possible, the emerald was still a ways out of his reach and it wasn't slowing down any. Now it seemed that they were headed into the holding cell area of the base, and Sonic had a least a dozen or so GUN officials on his tail, maybe more but he wasn't stopping to check.

"…Well I can't keep this up much longer, and if GUN is gonna press charges on me then I might as well take things a tad further." No longer concerned about keeping from doing any damage to the base to give GUN something to arrest him for, Sonic tapped into the power of the three emeralds he already had, feeling the energy course through him. He used it to press himself forwards even faster as energy whipped around him. A sonic boom rang out as he broke the sound barrier.

This extra burst of speed was all he needed to catch up to the emerald. He snatched it out of the air, the gem halting its movement when his hand clasped around it. He skid to a stop and breathed a little heavy, but smiled none the less at his accomplishment.

That was before the GUN officers that had been chasing him finally caught up. "Freeze!" One of them yelled, aiming their weapon at his head. "…Crap." Sonic said as he looked around at the guns that were pointed at him. "…Look, I'd love to stay and chat, but I don't have time." Sonic said, tossing the emerald up in the air once and catching it. "Chaos Control!" Sonic used the ability to escape the GUN base, leaving several confused officers staring at an empty hallway.

* * *

Shadow stood atop a building, one of a series condemned to be demolished the next day. Amy was lying on her side out cold nearby. Shadow had been forced to knock her unconscious in order to keep her from trying to escape without hurting her. His focus was currently on the three emeralds that he held, and the light that was radiating from each of them. The light of each was strong due to three of them being so close to one another, but it wasn't quite bright enough yet. Meaning Sonic had yet to approach with the other four emeralds. Only if all seven emeralds were gathered could they truly test who was fit to be the one to lead those with the blessing of chaos.

The emerald's light began to grow, Sonic was approaching fast. Shadow closed his eyes and allowed the emeralds to rise into the air, using them like a signal flare to mark his location. Soon enough, the blue hedgehog came running up the side of the building, jumping over the edge and landing on both feet and one hand. "So you've brought the other four emeralds?" Shadow asked, even though it was already obvious. "Yeah, now whoever's behind this let Shadow and Amy go. I'm the one you want right?" Sonic said, pulling out the other four emeralds. They soon floated up, joining the first three to form a ring of emeralds that rotated slowly above them. "Sonic, I am Shadow." Shadow said. "The actions I took were of my own decision… I have simply been given the light so that I may have redemption for my sins."

"That's a load of bull." Sonic said, glaring at Shadow. "Shadow would have just came at me regardless of if I wanted to fight or not. Somebody's manipulating you." He said, folding his arms. "That is what I would do. If I wanted to simply defeat you. What I want is a fair fight… I had to kidnap her in order to make you be willing to however." Shadow said. "Fine, I'll just have to beat the truth out of whoever is really behind this later. What do you want the emeralds for anyways?" Sonic asked. "Vesteil required them. He said something about providing an even playing field… I'm not sure what he meant by that." Shadow answered.

"I shall show you Shadow." A soft glow came from somewhere to Sonic's right. He quickly turned his head to see a man wearing mid-evil styled blue and white clothing standing nearby. "You must be the madman behind this." Sonic said. "I am no madman." The man said as the chaos emeralds floated over to him. "I am Vesteil of the Union of Light. It seems that your years of fighting to preserve the peace of this world have caused you to misinterpret our actions. We do not desire to bring any harm to you or your friends. We simply need to determine who among you is the strongest before we may proceed." The man, who called himself Vesteil, said. "I shall explain after your battle, for now I must perform a small ceremony before you begin." Vesteil pulled out a small scroll and opened it. Lettering Sonic didn't recognize was written on the parchment in a strange white ink.

"The servers are the seven chaos. Chaos is Power, Power is enriched by the heart. The controller is the one who unifies the Chaos…" Vesteil began, before shifting into an odd sort of chant. The chaos emeralds spun faster and faster, lifting up into the air. Their light became too bright for the emeralds themselves to be clearly distinguished. The white ink on the scroll faded away slowly as the emeralds went higher. Once they reached a point in which they looked like a miniature multicolored sun against the night sky, they stopped and remained there. "What are you doing?!" Sonic demanded. "You'll see." Vesteil said, putting the now blank scroll away. He then stepped back, away from the two hedgehogs.

"Sonic, it is time to determine which of us is the strongest once and for all." Shadow said, shifting into a combat stance. ("Heh, the real Shadow would have just said something about being the ultimate life form so that meant he was the strongest.") Sonic thought. "…Shadow, I still don't want to fight you. But if I have to, then bring it on!" Sonic yelled, preparing himself to fight as well.

Shadow made the first move, dashing straight at Sonic and throwing his fist into his face. Sonic flew backwards from the blow. He saw the roof coming up to his head and thrust his hands out to throw himself off of it so that he flipped onto his feet. Shadow was already coming after him with another attack, this one a kick aimed for his stomach. Sonic was ready for this one, and jumped over it, flipping in mid-air and bringing the heel of his foot into Shadow's head. Shadow staggered forwards a little, but quickly whipped around, sending a chop into Sonic's side as he landed. Sonic was thrown again, however this time he wasn't able to stop himself from hitting the rooftop. He slid a ways before he managed to stop himself and get back on his feet.

Shadow was going for an all out offensive strategy it seemed. He curled up and began to spin in place rapidly, picking up speed as an orange aura surrounded him. He suddenly shot forwards, the aura leaving a trail behind him. Sonic however had used this same move himself too many times for it to be effective and simply jumped over Shadow. Shadow however seemed to have been expecting this, as he uncurled with his arms forwards, pushing off the rooftop to send himself flying backwards. Sonic, unable to change direction in midair, felt Shadow's elbow slam into his back as the two collided in the air. Sonic again hit the floor. Shadow wasn't going to give him time to prepare for the next attack it seemed, as he ran at Sonic, still on his knees, his fist drawn back.

Shadow brought his fist down, only to have it be halted by Sonic's hand. Shadow's light filled eyes widened as if surprised. Sonic looked up at him and smirked. Rather than get the rest of the way up, Sonic swung his legs around on the floor, knocking Shadow's own out from under him. As Shadow fell, Sonic brought his fist up to uppercut Shadow. Shadow fell to the ground, but rather than continue to attack, Sonic got to his own feet and jumped backwards to put distance between Shadow and himself.

Shadow got back up to his feet, but rather than go in for another attack, he simply stared at Sonic. Sonic stared back, watching Shadow's eyes that were obscured by the light emitting from them. As if they had somehow had an unspoken conversation, Sonic smirked and Shadow nodded. The two of them began to run in the same direction, not turning their eyes away from one another. They picked up speed, soon reaching the edge of the building. That didn't stop them. They simply jumped, leaping over to the next one. This is where the real fighting would begin.

The two began to move away from one another, before turning and dashing straight at one another faster than the unaided eye could keep up with. They were now using light speed dash attacks. The two ricocheted off one another, landing on opposite building rooftops. Shadow managed to start going again first. He jumped up and light dashed straight for Sonic. The blue hedgehog jumped backwards to avoid being struck, and then lashed out at Shadow with his own light dash attack. Shadow staggered from the blow, but Sonic didn't have time to try another attack, Shadow vanished in a short flash of light. "Chaos control?!" Sonic yelled, looking around wildly to try and find where Shadow would appear. The black and red hedgehog had appeared directly above Sonic, and launched a light dash attack straight into his blue doppelganger's backside. The force drove both of them clean through the roof and into the building. As the dust settled, a blue blur and a black blur could be seen colliding against one another repeatedly, but neither one seeming to actually do any damage against the other.

Shadow put a hand on the floor as he slid to slow himself. "Chaos…" he began to charge chaos energy into his hands as they were coated with a dark yellow colored glow. "Spear!" He yelled, launching the attack at Sonic. Sonic rolled to one side to avoid being hit by the attack, which demolished the wall behind him. Shadow chaos controlled next to Sonic and did a roundhouse kick to the side of Sonic's head, sending him into the rubble that once was the wall. Sonic groaned as he slowly tried to get back to his feet, shifting the rubble around as he did so. "Chaos…" Shadow was gathering chaos energy again, this time it surrounded him in a bright red aura. "Oh Sh-" Sonic began as he threw his arms up in front of his face. "BLAST!" Shadow yelled. The energy erupted from him, obliterating the entire top floor of the building they were on.

Sonic breathed heavily, his whole body ached after being hit with that attack, and the floor he stood upon was charred and probably wouldn't hold much longer. ("He used all those chaos attacks without an emerald…") Sonic thought as he looked to where Shadow stood. ("And he doesn't even seem fatigued… Where the heck is he getting the chaos energy?!") Sonic thought as he brushed a small trail of blood away with his gloved hand. Then he noticed it. The air itself seemed to feel heavy with the emerald's power. ("What the?") Sonic looked upwards to see that the chaos emeralds were still in the sky. ("…I get it now. The emeralds are releasing their energy into the atmosphere itself… Which means the whole world is probably feeling the effects of this! But why didn't I notice this sooner?") Sonic thought as he looked back down at Shadow to make sure he was ready for another attack. ("…Because he knew what was happening and wanted to keep my attention on him.") He realized.

Shadow was already rushing at him. Sonic smirked to himself. ("Shadow's not the only one with chaos powers though.") He thought to himself as he began to channel the chaos energy in the air into himself. He felt his fatigue lifting and his pains ease. Shadow was about to throw another punch at him, when Sonic suddenly burst forwards, blue wisps of wind flowing around and trailing behind him similar to his sonic wind attack. He rammed into Shadow's torso, but didn't stop there as he flew over the gap to the next building. He stopped himself as he landed on the rooftop, Shadow landing a short distance away on his back. "Things just got a bit more interesting." Sonic said aloud.

Shadow got back to his feet. "How'd you like my sonic burst? Stings don't it?" Sonic taunted him. Shadow simply fired another chaos spear at him, which he dodged quickly. "Man, I never thought I'd miss you bragging about being the ultimate life form." Sonic said. Shadow chaos controlled in front of Sonic again and threw a punch into his stomach. Sonic was winded and doubled over, which proved quickly to be a mistake as Shadow kicked his head, throwing him to the floor. He brought his other foot down to stomp on him, but Sonic rolled to one side to avoid it. Sonic chaos controlled away, attempting to put some distance between them.

"I've got to try and put him down now…" Sonic said to himself as he watched Shadow start running at him again. He held his hands together and began to focus as much chaos energy as he could into them. A blue aura began to flow around his hands as the wind picked up. Shadow was getting closer, but he needed a few more seconds. He pulled more energy in, trying to get as much as he could before the last possible moment. Shadow was charging his own energy, but Sonic didn't have time to look what it was for. He needed to attack now! "Sonic Wind!" Sonic yelled, throwing his hands towards Shadow and releasing all the energy he had built up. A gale force wind, so heavy with chaos energy that it was turned the same color as the hedgehog who had caused it, lashed out straight at Shadow in a nearly point blank ranged attack.

Sonic smiled to himself as he panted to try and give his body the oxygen it was yelling at him for. He was sure that Shadow was going to be feeling that one in the morning. His mood was killed as something pierced through the winds he had called forth, something a pale gold color, nearly silver. His eyes widened in fear. Super Shadow had just gone through his sonic wind attack, unscathed, glaring at him with his light filled eyes.

Sonic knew he had to get away, he knew that Shadow's super form would be too much for him to fight. But running wouldn't have done any good, Shadow was now too fast for him to run away from. Shadow threw a punch into his face, throwing him off his feet. Before he could hit the ground, Shadow had moved around him and brought his knee up into his back, sending him skywards. Then Shadow was in the air, and brought both of his fists down into Sonic's stomach, throwing him to the roof where he cracked against the cement.

Sonic coughed up blood. Never when he had fought Shadow in the past had Shadow been in a super form and he not. Sonic tried to gather chaos energy to restore his strength and get back up, but it felt like somehow Shadow was blocking all the flow of the energy from him. Sonic slowly rose to his feet, but Shadow was suddenly in front of him, and kicked his head, sending him flying to the edge of the building. Sonic grabbed onto the edge and his body smacked against the side of the building. Still, it was better than falling from this height.

Shadow floated over to the edge, and looked down at him. "…So I am the stronger one… As I thought." He said, raising his hand above his head. Golden energy swirled into a small ball in his hand, an attack that would be devastating to Sonic as he was if he was hit with it as he was. ("Is this it…?") Sonic thought. ("Do I lose my friend, and possibly my life… like this?") He thought as he hung weakly to the edge, staring up at Shadow.

("…No. Losing is not an option!") Sonic thought as his eyes hardened into a glare. The blue aura began to form again, this time covering his whole body. ("I lose and who knows what will happen to Shadow? To the whole world?!") He thought. "Shadow?" He said, causing the super formed hedgehog to hesitate in his attack. "If you can still hear me… Sorry, but this is gonna hurt a little!" Sonic yelled as he grabbed the edge with his other hand and threw himself up, ramming his head into Shadow's stomach. The energy Shadow had been gathering dissolved and he fell to the floor. As he looked up, he saw Sonic's blue quills slowly becoming a bright gold as his aura blazed and took on the same color. "Impossible…" Shadow said to himself.

Shadow flew forwards, intending to punch Sonic before he could fully transform. Sonic caught his fist with one hand. His emerald green eyes became a warm crimson color, like fire. His quills began to flow upwards, as if a wind were blowing straight upwards. Sonic had become Super Sonic, and he wasn't backing down until he had beaten whatever was controlling Shadow out of him.

Shadow threw another punch at Sonic, who caught it with his other hand. Sonic's aura began to press against Shadow's, but still the hedgehog held onto his fists tight. Sonic suddenly took to the air, dragging Shadow along with him before letting go of his fists and doing a back flip in mid-flight to kick at Shadow. Shadow was thrown backwards for a short bit before he righted himself, floating in place. He quickly charged a chaos spear and fired it at Sonic. Sonic simply swatted the attack aside with one hand. Sonic flew at Shadow, his aura concentrating in front of him to act as a ram. Shadow threw his hands forwards as Sonic collided with him, pushing against him. Shadow was eventually forced to spin around and throw Sonic, unable to overpower him. Sonic went forwards a ways, before he turned around and threw a Super Sonic Wind at Shadow. Shadow flew under it, before he began to rapidly fire chaos spears at Sonic. Sonic couldn't dodge all of them, so he simply threw his hands up to block them.

Shadow chaos controlled in front of Sonic and began to throw rapid punches into Sonic's torso. Sonic grunted, but quickly responded with a kick to force Shadow away from him. Shadow took a little longer to right himself again this time, and that was all that Sonic needed. Sonic threw a ray of chaos energy at Shadow, the attack hitting him dead center. Shadow had managed to survive that attack, but soon realized that that wasn't Sonic's intended finisher. Sonic had chaos controlled a short distance from Shadow and had dashed at him, throwing his elbow against Shadow's chest, knocking the air out of the other super form hedgehog.

Shadow began to grow limp, and then he fell against Sonic's arm, his quills changing back to their normal black color. His eyes slowly closed, covering the light that was coming from them. Sonic floated back down to the building rooftop and set him down on the ground. Shadow coughed once. When he opened his eyes, his normal red irises were staring at him. "…Don't expect me to say I owe you one faker…" He muttered. "Wouldn't ask you too." Sonic responded with a smirk as his own quills returned to their bright blue. Shadow closed his eyes, falling into a sleep.

Sonic turned back to where the fight had started. The man, Vesteil, was still there, and Amy too. He had to make sure she was ok, and find out what Vesteil was up too. He began to run back.

* * *

End of Chapter. WHOO!!! THAT WAS THE LONGEST ONE YET! OH MAN THAT WAS SUCH A COOL BATTLE!  
Shadow: I LOST?!  
Sonic: Yep.  
Shadow: …You're going to pay for this faker!  
Shadow calm down, if it had been you who was actually fighting and not that weird light controlled self that you were, that fight would have gone on FOREVER most likely… Anyways, review, comment, whatever, as usual. 


	11. Chapter 11

Did you all think I was dead? Well guess not, I'm alive, and so is the story. Thanks to all the patient fans that have waited so long for this chapter to come out. I will make it worth your wait.  
Shadow: KILL THE FAKER!  
Sonic: For the love of- YOU WERE UNDER SOMEBODY ELSE'S CONTROL!  
Shadow: KILL THE FAKER TWICE!  
Silver: …Yeah… I'm just gonna go sit here and wait for me to actually be written into the story…

* * *

Sonic felt the emeralds' power still coursing through his system as he ran across the rooftops back towards Vesteil and Amy. Sure he felt greatly fatigued, and he was sore in more places than he cared to count after that fight with Shadow. But still his body was naturally absorbing the chaos emerald energy that was slowly being filtered into the earth's air, and storing it away inside of himself. He didn't even have to think about it, it was as if his being found it as natural and as necessary as breathing.

But the azure hedgehog didn't have time to consider what this meant. He had his mind on getting back, making sure Amy was safe, then getting the information he wanted out of Vesteil… And maybe rough up the strangely dressed man just because he was more than a little ticked off. But first, he would make sure Amy was ok he decided, not even realizing that his thoughts were straying to the pink hedgehog who chased him wherever he went once again.

Sonic saw the silhouette of the strange man up ahead. He began to run faster as his eyes hardened into a glare. With a simple leap he was able to cross the gap between the buildings and land with ease on the rooftop. He straightened up, his fists clenched as he glared at Vesteil. The man said nothing, only stared at the blue hedgehog. Finally, he broke the silence. "Congratulations, Sonic the Hedgehog. You have proven yourself as the greatest among those with the blessing of chaos, by defeating your only possible equal in fair combat." He said. Sonic didn't seem amused. "Fair combat nothing. You were controlling him!" He yelled at the man. "If Shadow was really fighting me, that wouldn't have been so easy." And that was saying something considering how many times he had come close to being defeated. "I was not controlling him… It is complicated to explain." Vesteil said, glancing to one side. "But I believe you are more concerned about her at the moment. Go assure yourself that she is alright. Then we shall speak." He said.

Sonic fallowed the direction that Vesteil had been looking. Amy was there, lying on the ground. She appeared to just be asleep. He quickly went to her side, dropping to one knee to get a closer look. He released a held breath, she seemed to be alright.

As if his presence was somehow known to her, Amy's eyes began to open slowly. "S…Sonic?" She said. She felt like she was still dreaming. Sonic became aware that he was hovering over her, and quickly backed off. "Amy, you alright?" He asked, wanting to make sure before he returned his attention to Vesteil. "I think so…" Amy said, slowly sitting upright, putting a hand to her head to try and steady her vision. What had occurred suddenly came rushing back to her. Her eyes quickly looked back to Sonic in worry. "Shadow's back to himself, I took care of it." Sonic said quickly to dispel her fears.

Sonic looked over his shoulder. Vesteil wasn't even looking at them, but that didn't make him feel any better. He turned his attention back to the rose pink hedgehog in front of him. "Amy, I want you to get down from here and run. Hide somewhere safe and I'll come find you." He told her. He wouldn't admit it but he felt… Strange. His heart was beating faster, and his concentration was threatening to float off and take his mind with it. What seemed the oddest to him was that he suddenly couldn't shift his gaze from Amy's eyes. She seemed to mistake this as a sign of fatigue. "Sonic, what's going on? I can't just…"

Amy's sentence was never finished. Sonic's lips were covering her own. It was short, and soft. Yet the kiss seemed to hold so much emotion that neither of them were certain the origin of. Sonic broke the contact, and slowly pulled his head away from her. "… I don't know what this guy's capable of, and I want you to stay safe. So hide." His ability to form a conscious thought was shot, but his concern for Amy wasn't thankfully. She slowly nodded and got to her feet, running towards the old fire escape.

Sonic couldn't understand why he had done that. He had just had the sudden urge to kiss her, and it came so fast that even he didn't have time to think of doing otherwise. ("…Snap out of it Sonic! I've got more important things to be wondering about than why the heck I'm suddenly attracted to Amy… Wait did I just admit I'm attracted to her? …Argh! Focus!") Sonic shook his head to try and clear his thoughts. Right now he had to find out what this Vesteil guy was up to. If he could take control of Shadow like that so easily, he'd have to keep his guard up.

* * *

Mephiles's crystallized eyes narrowed as he had observed the battle between Sonic and Shadow. "With that cursed scepter of darkness's effect on me, I don't have access to enough of my power to fight them enough to draw blood." He muttered as his face formed as close to a scowl as it could without a mouth. He had pondered how he could work out of this bad situation that he had been set into while he watched Sonic run back towards the man. His expression darkened more as he recognized the man as a member of the Union of Light. "So… Even after all the times this puny planet has been nearly destroyed, they have waited until now to arrive on it… Something interesting must be up if it finally caught their attention after so much has been overlooked."

Then he witnessed something that granted him an idea. Sonic had kissed that pink hedgehog… Amy. That was her name he recalled. He always was one to look at relations as a possible way to manipulate things to his advantage, and his mind was already forming on what to do with what he had just seen.

He drew upon his knowledge as half of the inter dimensional being Solaris. This had served him well in the past, it was how he had been able to use the shadow of the hedgehog with the same name that had sealed him away in order to revitalize his power and grant himself a solid form, and have knowledge of where Iblis had been sealed away even though he was not present at the time of the sealing. An old story came to his mind for some reason, of an evil genie that had been sealed inside of a lamp for all eternity… No, that wasn't all he recalled… The story had been about a story that was being erased by a genie within the story that wished to escape… But in order to do so, the genie had to use the seven world rings and… A blue hedgehog?!

Mephiles could not believe what his vast amount of knowledge had held… A tale re-written by the power of a genie and one of the same hedgehogs he hated so greatly for attempting to erase him from existence, and ruining his chances of ever becoming Solaris again. He calmed his rising anger as he recalled that each of the world rings had a strong emotion tied to it… Interestingly enough, there was a white world ring that held the emotion of desire. He also remembered that the lamp this genie had been sealed in still was in the book… And if Sonic could enter the story with a little help, it would be no problem for him to enter the realm of the book on his own. After all, he may not have all his power, but he still had abilities that normal beings did not.

Mephiles slipped into the shadows, becoming a formless puddle of darkness as he went to search for the book so that he could begin his newly formed plan.

* * *

Amy was running down the street, not paying attention to what direction she was headed. Her mind felt like it couldn't grasp everything that had happened to her and everyone else today. She finally began to slow down as her lungs cried out to her for precious oxygen. As she breathed heavy, slow breaths to fulfill this need, she reached up with one hand, and lightly touched her lips. She touched them right where Sonic had kissed them so very briefly moments ago.

When Sonic had kissed them, she felt… a strong tingling sensation run down her spine, then through her whole body. That sensation now lingered… It was… pleasant… But she couldn't tell why she felt that way. It wasn't an emotion, even though she felt like her heart was running over with joy that her hero, her savior, the one she had chased after so long had finally kissed her. She felt her head subconsciously tip upwards to stare at the seven chaos emeralds, obscured by their distance, in the sky. She felt the tingling sensation grow again, and her thoughts turned to Sonic.

She was worried that he would be alright… She worried about him all the time, even though she always would be the first to speak of her confidence in him. She believed that he could save the whole universe twice over if he needed to, and she saw no reason to believe otherwise… But still she worried. Every time he went into battle, she worried that he would be harmed… That it would be his last adventure.

She pulled herself free of such negative thoughts. Sonic always came through. He always proved that he could stop anything that was thrown his way. He had stopped things that seemed like the end of the world as everyone knew it, and this was small by comparison to all those other times. Little did she know how wrong she was with that assumption.

She instead attempted to focus on the strange tingling sensation that was rapidly beginning to grow. She felt almost as if she was surrounded by fire on all sides, and yet instead of painful, it was a pleasant sensation that at the same time sent a cool rush over her skin. It made no sense, how could she feel hot and yet cool at the same time? As if to answer her, her head tilted back up towards the seven gems in the sky. "…What's going on?" She asked aloud.

* * *

Sonic folded his arms as he approached the man who had earlier identified himself as Vesteil. "…Alright you, start talking." He said. Rather than the usual gruff refusal that he had become accustomed to coming from villains, Sonic was surprised that Vesteil actually smiled at him and bowed. "Congratulations Sonic the Hedgehog, you have defeated your only possible equal in combat and proven yourself the strongest among those who have the blessing of chaos." The strangely dressed man stated as he straightened up.

Sonic's eyes hardened at the man's words. "I hardly call that fair combat. You were controlling him." He said, his anger evident in his voice. "What I did would not allow him to do anything that was truly against his will." Vesteil answered. His eyes seemed to hold a shallow level of regret. "It was necessary however in order to gauge who on this planet has the gift that is greatest." He continued. "That still wasn't how Shadow would have fought… He's a lot more creative than that. I've fought him plenty of times to know that." Sonic retaliated.

"Regardless, he is fine now, and this is a moment that should be celebrated for you." Vesteil said, a genuine looking smile forming on his lips. "For you have been proven the strongest on this world, and the Union of Light will not overlook that." Sonic's arms dropped to his sides, slightly confused by the man's words. "Union of Light?" He asked aloud. "Ah, I believe I should explain." The strangely dressed man said, gesturing for Sonic to sit down. The azure hero chose to instead remain standing.

"The Union of Light is an organization that travels to the many worlds among the stars, salvaging those who can be saved from dieing worlds to join us in our current war with the numerous forces of darkness that threaten to end many lives before their destined times. We hold within us the purifying light that cuts through their vile forces and purifies the ones saved in our crusades. Even those who have sinned as your friend has can atone for them and join our ranks. Our goal is to eradicate all darkness from the worlds, and spread the unity and peace offered by the purifying light." Vesteil said, placing a hand on his chest as if reciting some sort of pledge.

Sonic began to process the information he gained. It seemed like a good thing, yet something in the back of his mind told him that this wasn't as legit' as it seemed. "…Wait, dieing worlds?!" He suddenly yelled, having managed to pick that word out of the little speech Vesteil had given him. "Yes, I'm afraid that this planet's destined time approaches soon. It has however spawned remarkable warriors in its defense from the dark ones that wished to end it prematurely. Such as yourself young savior." Vesteil explained. "Wait, the world's going to end and you expect me to be calm just because you complimented me?" Sonic asked, his hands curling into fists again. "Ah yes, it is sad, but it will occur… You must look ahead however. The union of light will stop other worlds from dieing before their predetermined fates." Vesteil said, trying to draw Sonic's attention away from the fact that his world was supposedly supposed to die soon.

"Isn't there something I can do to stop it from dieing?" Sonic asked. "Well, yes, but that would be going against the natural order of things, and only cause more suffering." Vesteil was going to explain further, but Sonic interrupted him. "So you're just going to let everyone that you don't 'save' just die like that?! Because they're 'supposed' to?!" The blue blur yelled in revived anger.

"You must understand, we cannot possibly save everyone." Vesteil said, putting his hands up to try and calm the hedgehog. "That's why we look for those who are warriors, those who can help destroy the darkness that is out there. Those who do not survive are not sacrificed in vain. Their souls become the power for our light, their hearts the fuel that allows us to fight that which could normally not be vanquished." Vesteil explained, spreading his arms wide as if to emphasis that everything around them would be a part of this.

"…Alright, so what do you 'Union' guys want with me?" Sonic asked, trying to calm himself down, this was just another person doing what he thought was the right thing to do after all, even if he didn't completely agree with it. "You and many of your friends who hold the blessing of the chaos emeralds will join the union, evolving into beings of the purifying light. You as the strongest shall be their leader, and join them together in the battle." Vesteil said, pulling his sword still in its sheath free from the leather belt loop that held it to his side. He held it forwards, like a cross, in front of him.

"…Sorry, not interested." Sonic said, folding his arms and turning his back towards Vesteil. "I don't want to just give up on this world… It's too precious to me." He said, looking out over the buildings in the glow of the emeralds high above. "…Plus, I'm fine being just me, Sonic the Hedgehog." He said, his trademark grin forming on his face as he jabbed his thumb towards himself.

Vesteil looked… displeased. "You don't seem to understand hedgehog… It's not an offer." He said, quickly drawing his large blade from its sheath. Sonic's grin remained as he raised his fists in preparation for the confrontation. "So that's it, you're gonna try and take me regardless of if I want to go or not." He said, one of his feet sliding along the rooftop as he widened his stance. "Hate to break it too you, but offer or not, I'm still gonna turn it down!"

"You do not have a choice in the matter I'm afraid, Sonic the Hedgehog. You were destined to become a warrior in this fight, and the Union shall not let evil have someone as promising as you." Vesteil took a few steps forwards with his sword drawn. "The old 'with us or against us' way of looking at things eh?" Sonic taunted.

A wind gushed forth, causing Vesteil's clothing to billow out behind him. As the cloth fell, luminous angelic wings were revealed. "…Ok that was unexpected." Sonic thought aloud. "Do not doubt the holy strength of the Light." Vesteil proclaimed to the hedgehog as his wings slowly spread and his sword became filled with the same unnatural light that seemed to flow from himself. The man's feet started to leave the ground causing Sonic to take a step backwards. ("…Ok, they're not just for decorative purposes… Running time!") He thought quickly as his feet took off just in time to avoid a sudden lunge from Vesteil.

Sonic ran in a clockwise circle around the rooftop, hoping to use his speed and mobility to his advantage over the strange angelic looking warrior. A smirk formed on the blue hedgehog's face as he drew his fist back, intending to end things quickly by rushing the man and giving him a good punch to the side of his head. However his hand wound up meeting nothing but air. "What the-?!" He yelled aloud as he stumbled a little from his momentum not being resisted against with the collision of his attack as he had expected. His instincts however soon yelled at him to get out of the way as Vesteil suddenly came down from above with a stab. Sonic jumped backwards, unable to balance himself properly he fell hard on one knee. Still it was better to skid up his leg a bit rather than be in the state the roof surface that he had just been standing on was. Vesteil's blade had gone clean through the material, light erupting from the weapon to obliterate a perfectly circular portion of the roof, so that the only thing that kept Vesteil from falling was his strange wings.

"I do not wish to cause you harm." Vesteil said as he straightened up, floating a bit higher into the air. "But I must make it clear that this is not a game!" He yelled, pointing his weapon at Sonic. The indigo mobian glared at the man for a few moments before grinning once more. He pushed on his still upright leg to shift his weight onto it so he could bring his other back up. He slowly straightened up, dusting himself off as if he had done nothing more than have gotten dirty. "I never said it was a game." He said, closing his eyes as he rolled his neck a few times. "I meant what I said. I'm willing to do whatever I've gotta to save this world, and I'll fight whoever wants to let it die when there's a chance of saving it." He said. His eyes snapped open, seeming to shine with confidence. "So either step it up a notch or go home, because I'm not gonna be convinced that easily!"

Vesteil looked upon Sonic, he seemed to be slightly impatient with the hedgehog. "Tell me then." Vesteil said, raising one hand to gather more light into a tight sphere that rested in the palm of his hand. "If you're so concerned about nobody getting hurt or dieing…" small strands of light, brilliantly multi-colored, slowly curled around, about an inch above the sphere's surface, forming a grid of many symbols. "Then why do you resist those who are trying to do the same thing but on a grander scale?" He suddenly hurled the sphere of light at Sonic. "Is it not a warrior's duty to favor the greater good?! The lives of many are more important than the few!" He yelled as the attack hurtled straight for its target. Sonic's grin remained ever confident as he began to flex his body, just enough to help him concentrate as he drew in more chaos energy. He focused it around his right foot as he drew it back and kicked the attack back into the air with as much ease as if it had been a soccer ball.

"A warrior? Maybe." He said as he let his foot drop back to the rooftop. The attack erupted into a brilliantly bright display in the sky that would put any firework to shame. "I wouldn't know." Sonic said, straightening himself up and folding his arms. "Because a Hero's duty is to make it so nobody has to be sacrificed to save everyone."

Vesteil looked at Sonic. "…A hero… So that's what you think you are?" He said as he sheathed his weapon. He was descending, slowly bringing himself back down to level with the hedgehog. "…You fail to realize what the sad fate of this world would be if you tried to stop it from finding rest…" Sonic was confused, Vesteil seemed… Sad? "…I'm sorry Sonic… Before I joined the Union and saw the truth I might have agreed with you…" Vesteil's feet touched the rooftop and his wings slowly dissolved into small individual pieces of light. "…I know what you're doing sounds noble but…" The man sighed. "…Just trust me… The light will make everything clear to you…"

Sonic's confusion continued to grow. What was this guy talking about? He was quickly put back on guard as Vesteil began to glow. "What's going on?!" He demanded to know. "The light will show you the path." Vesteil's entire image began to be blotted out as his glow became brighter. Sonic's vision was becoming overcome by the strange light. ("What's he doing…? I'd better be ready for whatever he's got planned.") Sonic thought as he started pulling in chaos energy. ("Ok… Just gotta see through this dang light… Where is he?") Sonic thought as he turned his head around, however the light was growing, blotting out his vision in all directions. ("Focus, he's gotta be in here somewhere… Whoa!") Sonic quickly grabbed the side of his head as he was hit by a dizzy spell. ("…Something… weird is going on with this light.") Sonic moved his hand to try and shield his vision, but to no avail.

("Come on… Stay focused… He has to be… somewhere… Ugh… I'm getting… sleepy…") Sonic thought as he began to sway in place. Yet still he held himself upright. ("Gotta keep fighting… This creep's the guy that messed with Shadow… Can't… lose… focus…")

* * *

The young psychic was beginning to regain consciousness. He let out a groan of physical pain, in the back of his mind he complained about how trans-dimensional travel was a lot rougher than it needed to be. ("Wait… Trans-dimensional travel?") He thought, unable to remember what had just occurred for a second. He quickly sat upright as the memory hit his head like a brick. "Mephiles!" He yelled aloud. But the dark being was nowhere to be seen. What he did see however, was that he had been asleep in a very dark, very grungy looking alleyway. That wasn't giving him any information, so he stood up, allowing his abilities to flow over himself with a green aura as he lifted himself up into the air. He decided a view from above would be the quickest way to locate the evil entity that had sent him here.

He left the alleyway, floating upwards. Once he felt he was at a decent height, he stopped and began to turn himself slowly 360 degrees. He blinked and his mouth hung open in awe. He was in the center of a massive city, with little to no signs of a hellfire that had been extinguished. "…Am I… Really in the past?" He wondered aloud. He had been in the past before yes, but this place was unfamiliar to him from all of his previous travels to it. He had always seen strange locations, ranging from lush forests to ridiculous carnivals that he really could not understand the point of. And of course, Soleanna and all of its beauty. Still the city of water was pale in comparison to the size of this city.

A light in the distance, as if a beacon, caught his attention easily. However it also drew his attention to a multi-colored light in the sky. "…The chaos emeralds?!" He said in shock. "…If those emeralds are all together… that must mean that Sonic's somehow involved." Silver said, having made a mental note of how much those gems seemed to be tied to that hedgehog. "I'd better check this out…" He decided. He focused his mind as if flexing a muscle, activating his teleport dash to send himself flying towards the light.

* * *

Amy stopped in he tracks and whipped her body around as the light suddenly built from the same direction she was trying to get away from. "…Sonic?" She said in a worried tone. A sense of sudden dread flowed down her spine as all of her nightmares came back to haunt her once again. Were here fears… finally happening? Was Sonic…? No! There wasn't any reason to even think that!

… Then again, that light… it scared her. It sent shivers through her body. It just… wasn't natural whatever it was… Sure Amy had always been labeled as the superstitious type due to her hobby of reading tarot cards, but every instinct she had was telling her this light was something bad… And she wasn't about to ignore what her instincts were telling her.

She started to run back towards the building, but stopped in her tracks. Sonic had made her promise to find a safe place to hide… Right after he had kissed her… Amy shook her head. This was no time to let her crush on him take over her thought process. Letting that happen in the past always wound up getting her into trouble, the exact opposite of what she was trying to do. Still… She felt pathetic, not being able to help in the slightest.

"What should I do…?" She asked aloud, as if seeking some divine aid. Her head subconsciously tipped back up to the seven chaos emeralds floating high in the sky. These gems of miracles… They had been Sonic's trump card time and time again. They had even managed to restore her hero's soul to his own body after it had been forcibly ripped away. She had to wonder, just what could these emeralds accomplish when it came to Sonic?

"…" Amy did the only thing that seemed like she could at the moment. She interlaced her fingers, closed her eyes and tilted her head, and began to pray for Sonic. ("Please… Do something… Do something to help me bring him back safely.")

* * *

The light began to die down. Vesteil was not any different from how he had been when he began to glow, still the strange warrior clad in odd attire. He looked to where Sonic stood. The azure hero stood firm as he had been before, his eyes clamped shut from the light. However, as if sensing that the blinding light had died down, he let his arm drop from attempting to block it out and straightened up.

"…Sonic the Hedgehog… Greatest warrior of earth." Vesteil addressed him. Sonic's arms slowly came up to fold over his chest at the statement. He was silent for a moment, before his classic grin formed on his face with a chuckle. "That's my name…" His eyes opened to reveal a burning unnatural light that blotted out his irises. "Don't wear it out." He finished.

* * *

And that's the end of the chapter.  
Shadow: I WASN'T EVEN IN THIS CHAPTER!  
Sonic: WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?!  
Heh, if you're reading this on you might have noticed that the second genre of this story has become romance, despite all logical thought in my head telling me to do otherwise.  
Sonic: I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!  
Silver: …Well, I'm in the story… for like, three paragraphs at least.


	12. Chapter 12

Hello everyone, I'm back with another chapter of Call of the Chaos: Last Hope  
Shadow: Wait a second, something's not right here…  
Silver: Yeah… Usually Sonic's butted his blue head in and started hogging the spotlight by now.  
Well he's currently possessed remember?  
Shadow: Didn't stop him from throwing a fit at the end of the last chapter.  
… Shut up Shadow.

* * *

Silver continued to float towards the source of the bright light although it had died down shortly after it had first appeared. The young hedgehog had started to slow down as he felt a strange sensation of dread filling the air. The emeralds presence, while dominate in their actual location high above him, was at the same time all around him. It was consuming his senses, enough to make him feel as if his head was attempting to expand to a larger size to contain some sort of information foreign to him that was worming its way into him from the energy saturated air.

"Something's not right…" Silver said aloud as he lowered himself to the ground. Somebody was nearby… Somebody that was pulling in the surrounding energy with a steady almost magnetic like pull, and they were getting close. He quickly slipped into a nearby alleyway, drawing his hand back as his psychic energy began to slowly flow around it. Its breathing was harsh he could hear now, it must have ran out of breath running. One good shockwave should knock it out, then he could hurry back towards the spot he had seen the light.

Its footsteps grew louder. He tightened his fist, his aura becoming more concentrated as he prepared to release his attack. It came around the corner. He let out a growl as he lunged forwards, only to catch himself in order to keep from falling onto his face. "Amy?" He said aloud, the pink hedgehog's eyes alit from the green glow around his hand. He quickly dismissed it, realizing his mistake.

"Silver?! What are you-?" Amy started to say, but she shook her head and grabbed a hold of his hand and started to pull him back the way she had come. "Nevermind. I can't help Sonic on my own but maybe you can!" She said. "Wait, Amy, what's going on?!" Silver yelled as he stumbled to keep up and not be pulled over. "Some creepy guy messed with Shadow, and now Sonic's up there!" Amy explained as she pointed up towards the building hastily.

Silver wasn't sure what to make of it, Amy's words were too brief and rushed from her lack of breath to be understood clearly. He didn't even know how she managed to remember him even. The events that they had met in were supposed to have been erased… He needed more information. "…Explain on the way." He said to her as the glow of his mental powers wrapped around himself and her. He activated his teleport dash; time was going to be of the essence it seemed.

* * *

Knuckles was growing increasingly angry. The others had attempted to get some rest, even after all the panic, so that they might be able to be of some use once they were free of this place. However the echidna's constant pacing back and forth, placed overtop the already accumulated stress from being unaware of what was occurring outside, made the act an impossibility.

"Would you give it a rest already knucklehead?!" Rouge finally yelled out in frustration at him. "Rest?!" Knuckles yelled as his fist whipped around, crashing into the concrete wall that separated his cell from hers. The force of the impact sent cracks throughout the wall, some running down into the floor and up into the ceiling, while the area directly around his fist was crushed, small flakes of it rolling over his gloved fist and falling down to the floor. Only the thickness of the wall had prevented it from giving way entirely. "How do you expect me to rest while I'm stuck in here?!" He yelled. "Try ramming your head into the wall next time; it's bound to be harder than those hands of yours with how thick your skull is." Rouge responded, expecting the usual banter with the guardian to ensue. "Have you forgotten?!" Knuckles yelled, his voice causing more flakes of concrete to come free. "…I asked for your help for a reason… Now nobody's guarding the master emerald at all…" the red echidna said, taking a breath to try and calm his temper. Rouge's eyes widened slightly in realization… They had all forgotten about the master emerald in all the chaos, save for Knuckles.

"…The emerald gave me a warning… I'm sure you felt it too or you wouldn't have agreed to help me." Knuckles said, folding his arms. "…Something's about to happen… And somehow, the master emerald knows that it will be involved… And I highly doubt the emerald would warn me if that was somehow a good thing." He turned his back to the wall he had nearly crushed.

"Hey! Keep it down." A guard was foolish enough to yell. Knuckles turned to glare at him, his violet eyes seemed to be ablaze with fury. The guard visibly shuddered, but still remained, determined not to be intimidated… That changed when Knuckles grabbed onto one of the prison cell bars with a single hand. With but a twist of his wrist, the bar was bent, and pulled out of the cement at the top and bottom of the cell, the guardian promptly tossed the bar to one side afterwards. "I'm only still in here since my friends are advising me not to get into conflict with you…" He growled out. "But you are getting on my nerves faster than they are." With that, Knuckles went to sit on the edge of the bed, completely ignoring the wider opening between the bars he had created that he easily could have slipped through… His mood had lightened somewhat at seeing the guard visibly pale, and if his nose wasn't mistaken… well the guard should be thankful that the dark uniform he was wearing probably was hiding the liquid stain that was setting in. Knuckles managed to crack a brief smile at this.

* * *

Mephilis would have smiled to himself if he was capable of such a facial expression. The world of this book had been all too easy to infiltrate. Then again, he was dealing with a relatively simple magic it seemed. Even weakened as he was, there was little to prevent him from entering. The pages and words soon gave way to a world that appeared as real as the one that rested just outside the one woven from tales and stories. This place was strange… It seemed to be an old building, perhaps made for constructing something based on the old style equipment that he found lying around… Yes, he could feel anger and corruption radiating throughout this place… he just needed to locate the source of it.

Mephilis moved through the building, what traps that remained active were of no concern to him. He had to chuckle at how predictable some of them were… They might have been trouble to a normal being, but for the entity of darkness, they were of little use as gravity was not an issue to him. Finally he came upon a room in which a massive metal caldron for lack of a better way to describe it rested. The container dominated the room, and was filled to the brim in red hot metal that showed no signs of ever cooling…

Mephilis floated across the surface of the molten mixture. He need not fear its heat. This was nothing in comparison to what his other half, Iblis, was capable of creating. He finally stopped, looking down into the bright hot liquid. "Yes… Here it is." He said aloud to himself, extending his hand. Tendrils of what of his power he still had access to flowed out into the melted metal. Shortly after, they pulled back up out of it, bringing forth a lamp. Yes, this is where he was contained.

His hand grasped a hold of the lamp, before running over it, causing the entity within it to stir. The seal was broken and the Djinn was released from the prison that Sonic had intended him to remain within forever. "…I have been released?" Erazor spoke in uncertainty as his black eyes turned around. Finally it caught sight of Mephilis, whom held his lamp. "What is this? Another rat who thinks that I am so easily manipulated?!" the genie yelled in anger. Mephilis raised his free hand in a halting gesture. "…I am no rat, nor am I the hedgehog whose appearance I have taken on… My name is Mephilis, and I seek to grant you freedom in exchange for but one wish." The dark one spoke

"…I am listening." Erazor answered, folding his arms as his feet rested upon his weapon that floated above the vat that his lamp had been sealed in but moments ago. "You are to grant three wishes to the possessor of your lamp. I need but two. One to grant you your freedom, and the other to fulfill what it is I want in exchange." Mephilis explained.

"I shall wish you not only free from this object for all eternity, but freedom from this world of lies that you hate so much, if you do but one thing…" His mind began to swirl with hatred as he thought back to the hedgehogs… Silver, the one he had tried to manipulate into doing his whim, but in the end saw through his lie and assisted in crushing his combined form… Shadow, the one who had sealed him away originally, whose form and power he had stolen through the use of his namesake, and then caused him such pain in an attempt to stop his plans… Then Sonic… If that blue one had stayed slain… If it was not for him, then they would not have been able to vanquish him. He hated Sonic greatly, for the hedgehog's soul had been instrumental in his reformation, as well as his downfall… Oh revenge would be sweet.

"I want you to grant the one whom last imprisoned you within this lamp's greatest desire." Mephilis finished. Erazor Djinn was infuriated. "I shall never grant him another wish so long as he lives! I would rather-" Mephilis motioned him to silence himself again. "I want you to have him take his desire… even if he does not want to take it."

* * *

Silver touched down a distance away from the building, atop one of the other roofs. He did not want to chance a direct encounter with Amy there. Based on what she had told him, this man had some sort of magic that affected the emeralds… He could feel their power filling the air even from this distance, and judging from what he had seen of the nearby area, Shadow and Sonic had made use of it in the fight. "…I'm going to try and see if I can get a closer look." He explained to the pink hedgehog. "Stay here." He told her.

She instantly grabbed onto his arm to prevent him from leaving. "No!" She yelled defiantly. "I'm not going to be left alone anymore." She said. Silver sighed. "Amy, I can't help Sonic and protect you at the same time easily. What would he say if you got hurt because we made a mistake?" He said, trying to make her understand. Amy looked down. She had thought of that true, but… "I'll be back soon." He told her.

"Wait." A horse voice said. The voice belonged to Shadow, who had managed to make his way over to them. He looked tired, probably had to draw on a lot of what was left of his strength to jump from one building to another to make his way over to them. One arm was holding onto his own chest, a bruise was starting to become visible even underneath his black quills from where he had been struck. "That man, Vesteil…" Shadow said, slowly walking over to them. He shook his head once, trying to remain conscious. "His light… There's something about it… When I was blinded by it, I felt like somebody was talking to me… Like another me was telling me what to do…" He said, finally stopping to catch his breath. "…It was like being in the dark, and there was only one light, so you didn't have any choice but to follow it…" He said.

Silver looked at Shadow… He knew how strong the hedgehog was first hand, having fought him before. Such damage could not have been made easily. "… When Sonic started attacking me, I stopped following the light… I don't like being lead around like some sort of dog… The light grew brighter, trying to get me to keep following it. It was walking blind… But that blow to the gut finally cut the light out." Shadow finished explaining. "…You were brainwashed by the light?" Amy asked. "No… Not exactly… It was like the light made me want to follow it, by making every other way besides where it was going hard to see… I could still go my own way, but the light tried everything it could to make me willingly follow it."

Silver tilted his head downwards in thought at this new information… A light that made people want to follow it… "…What good is doing that to somebody?" He had to ask. "…Half of my mind was still able to think on its own… I could recognize some of what I was doing, and that gave me a little control over my actions… The light was trying to get me to prove if I was stronger than anyone else that could use the chaos emeralds." Shadow closed his eyes for a moment. "…I was me, but not me…"

"You misunderstand the nature of the Light." A voice that was regrettably recognizable said, interrupting their thoughts. Sonic had chaos controlled himself mere feet away. A grin was on his face as always as one hand clenched in a fist rested against his hip in a pose of confidence. His eyes were filled with a light similar, yet somehow stronger, than the one that had been in Shadow's eyes earlier. "Sonic!" Amy yelled, but not in joy, but fright… Those eyes… They were the eyes he had had in her dream. Sonic seemed to ignore her for the moment. "The light is a guide. Something to show us out of the dark. It cannot 'control' somebody. You were just actually listening instead of running with your ears shut to what's going on." The blue hedgehog said to the other three of his species.

His attention then turned to Silver. "Silver? What are you doing here?" He said in confusion, his eyes shifting to reflect this despite the fact that his irises could not be seen. "On second thought, never mind. You can explain later. You'll help us out right?" He asked. Silver was confused as to how to respond. "Don't listen to him!" Shadow yelled. "He might sound like himself, but that's not him!"

Sonic frowned. "What? You're calling me a fake Sonic now?" He said, folding his arms. "That's hardly anyway to talk to your superior officer." He said, grinning again. "What are you talking about?" Silver asked, drawing one hand back in preparation should he need to defend himself against Sonic. "Shad here lost, that makes me number one for everyone here who's got chaos powers." Sonic said, using one hand to point at himself with his thumb. "That reminds me." He said, dropping his arms to his sides. "I'm supposed to be busy recruiting you for the light. Can't leave to fight bad guys without getting you guys ready for it."

"…What do you mean?" Shadow said, inching his way closer to Silver and Amy. He had a bad suspicion he really hoped wasn't true… Sonic just smiled, placing one hand on his hip while his other hand rose about torso level, palm open upwards. A rush of air blew outwards from his body as he suddenly entered his super form, a ball of light similar to the kind that obscured his eyes forming in the open hand. "What do you think I mean Shad?" He chuckled. "Now hold on, it's not gonna hurt I promise." He said, raising the hand above his head.

Shadow suddenly dashed between Silver and Amy, grabbing onto both of their wrists. "Use Chaos Control!" he yelled at Silver. "What?!" Silver yelled in confusion as Sonic approached them. "Now you idiot!" Shadow yelled. The hedgehog from the future clenched his eyes shut as he drew in what chaos energy was available in the immediate area. "Chaos Control!" He yelled. Space and time was bent around them, warping the three of them away from the super powered hedgehog. Sonic sighed, dismissing the ball of light. He put a hand to his forehead, still in his super form. "I was afraid they might do that… Oh well. I'll think of it as a little game with them." he decided with a shrug. "Now let's see… Tails and Knuckles are probably back at the GUN base… I should probably bust them out. They've got enough chaos power to make decent fighters. Maybe they'll listen better." He thought aloud as he started to fly in the direction of the base, his golden aura leaving a trail behind him as he soared through the air at speeds that broke the sound barrier.

* * *

The officers occupying the island were uneasy at the presence of the doctor, but more-so the strange fox that was accompanying them. ("The Guardian Unit of Nations… How ironic it is that the greatest threat to their nations is about to slip right past them with full authorization.") Eneco thought to himself as he walked alongside Dejitaru. The connections the doctor had to GUN proved to be quite useful, granting them clearance to the massive gem that reigned over the seven.

The alter stood untouched, but under heavy guard. Dejitaru began to approach it, a smile on his face. "…Yes… Yes this will help my research greatly." He said, making his way up the steps. "…I'll be setting up here with my assistant. I'm going to need privacy however." He said over his shoulder to the GUN units. "…Understood." The ranking officer said in response.

Eneco had to laugh to himself slightly as the mech units in the area along with the officers began to move out of sight. Things were going excellently it seemed. He smiled to himself as he looked upon the master emerald. His hand came out to touch its surface. It pulsated as if in protest to the corrupt presence. "…I know you're watching… And I intend to soon release you." The fox spoke. "…Your power shall soon be unleashed… Nazo."

* * *

Ugh. I hate having writer's block. The last five pages of this story were written in a single night because I couldn't get past part of it.  
Shadow: Took you long enough.  
Quiet you… I'm going to bed. Leave some commentary please.


End file.
